Protect You
by ThatcrazyJalphfan
Summary: LOTF boarding school au - Rogermon; Jalph: Side plot - Roger starts developing foreign feelings for Simon that he doesn't quite understand, but is determined to discover soon enough. As the two start getting closer, difficulties and drama start to persist. Roger becomes protective and slightly possessive of Simon over the course of the story (typical cliché fanfic)
1. Chapter 1

**Oh, how original,** _ **another**_ **Lord of the Flies boarding school au. Aha, totally not cliche at all :3 *sarcasm* xD So this is basically a shit-load of Rogermon fluff with a little Jalph on the side. enjoy.**

 **Story summary: Simon has moved to yet another school on account bullying; he makes a few new friends that stand up for him. Roger on the other hand, is basically one of the major bullies of the school, always picking fights, teasing freshman, messing with the new kids, you name it. Even teachers have grown to fear the boy. Roger has never felt remorse about bullying anybody… So why the sudden change when he takes notice of the new, fragile looking boy getting picked on? Roger starts to feel strange feelings toward Simon and becomes very overprotective of him.**

 **Jalph - side plot**

 **(side note: The later chapters are more well written than the first few chapters, sorry about that. Just bare with me, I know the first few are really badly written with grammar mistakes left and right, but I'm working on fixing that.)**

Chapter one:

" _Marian Boarding School for Boys."_

Simon felt sick to his stomach as he read the sign that pointed to the large, three story building in front of him. He clenched his fists as he walked to the front of the building where the school counselor and headmaster waited for him patiently.

"You must be… Mr. Walker, correct?" Simon nodded at the woman who spoke, he forced a small smile.

"Well hello! Welcome to Marian Boarding School for Boys. I'm Mrs. Morgan, the schools counselor, and I will be helping you out for the next couple of weeks. I was informed that you have had a few issues with bullying in the past, yes?" Simon nodded again. "Well hopefully here bullying will no longer be a problem for you. I have not heard about any bullying in this school all year so far, which is great news for you!" Mrs. Morgan exclaimed, with a cheery smile.

"Yes, that is really great news. I am proud to say that as of right now, this school is bully free. I'm your new headmaster. You can call me Mr. Williams. If there are any problems you are to come to either myself or Mrs. Morgan. I think you will really grow to like it here this year, Simon."

With that said, Mr. Williams opened one of the massive steel doors with ease, holding it open as the other two entered. Although the building had an intimidating outside, the inside, however, looked much more welcoming. To the left, was a broad staircase, leading up to the other dorms and classrooms. Boys passed by each other, some walking alone, others in groups. Some of them eyed Simon warily, wondering who he was, how he would act, and what social group he would fit in with. Simon kept his gaze to the ground, not wanting to make any awkward eye contact with anybody in particular.

"This way." Mrs. Morgan stated, turning a corner and entering her office.

The lady behind the desk stared at the dark haired boy for a moment before pushing her glasses back upon the bridge of her nose.

"Name?" She asked at last, opening a drawer that contained files of all the attending students of the boarding school. Before Simon could get a word out, the counselor had already told the office lady his name and that he needed his dorm room key and papers.

With a small sigh, the office lady pulled out the file that contained his schedule, dorm key, and other paperwork with ease. She held out the papers and key in front of Simon who took them carefully.

"If you lose your schedule or dorm key, report back to me so I can give you another copy. If you need help reading your schedule, there are plenty of students and teachers you can ask who would be happy to help you. Same if you have trouble with opening your dorm room." The office lady said, voice monotone.

Simon nodded and thanked her quietly. He was told that his dorm room was on the second floor. Room B117. He quietly made his way over to the staircase, climbing the steps easily, paying attention to everything around him. Since classes were going on right now, the hallways were near empty, looking as if abandoned; Simon was thankful for this. He counted the dorm room numbers until he found his own.

Simon readjusted his bag on his shoulder and put the key into the slot of the door handle, twisting and turning the key all different ways, but the door wouldn't budge. He sighed and kicked the door, mumbling about how unlucky he always seemed to be.

As if Simon's luck could get any worse, a small group of boys, who looked to be in either the same grade as himself or higher, were making their way towards him. The one in the front, striding toward him as if he owned the school, had a sly smirk played across his face as he looked the other boy up and down, as if reading his weaknesses, fears, and entire soul in general. His dark red curls bounced as he walked, and his cheeks were flooded with freckles.

Simon turned to face his dorm room, hoping that the group would just walk by him and forget his presence. But of course, they had to walk right up to him. One of the boys cleared their throats loudly, wanting the dark haired boy's attention. Simon cautiously turned to the group, tightening his grip on the bag slung over his shoulder.

"Hey, newbie. Having troubles, are we?" The redhead started, voice as threatening and intimidating as the look he wore. Silence was the only answer he received.

"Quiet type, eh?" the redhead sighed. "They're no fun." he remarked, getting dangerously close to the dark haired boy's liking.

"Do you guys need something or what?" Simon finally asked, crossing his arms over his chest. There were a few chuckles from the group. Simon shifted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, we actually do need something." The redhead started, leaning down, putting his hand up against the wall Simon was in front of, trapping the boy inside the group.

" _Jack!_ " The unfamiliar voice echoed from the other side of the hallway. The redhead's smirk grew even more when he heard the voice, he lifted his head up and looked over his shoulder. Simon saw that the voice belonged to a fair haired, goldenly tanned boy. The fair haired boy advanced towards the group looking quite angry. The redhead, now known as Jack, broke away from the group and started walking up to the angry boy, meeting him three quarters of the way.

"What the hell is with you guys messing with the newer kids?" The blonde yelled, shoving Jack away. The fair haired boy didn't back down, even though he was about a head shorter than Jack. The redhead put on a fake hurt look, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting.

"That wasn't very nice, Ralphie." Jack whined, sounding more like a ten year old than a sixteen- almost seventeen year old.

"Leave the boy alone, Jack." Ralph warned, his glare piercing the redhead's gaze. Jack sighed and put his hands up in defeat.

"Fine, Ralph. You really like ruining fun, don't ya? We didn't even do anything to the boy anyways, except maybe make him feel uncomfortable." Jack said, eyeing the dark haired boy from the corner of his eye, quietly laughing at his stiff, almost statue-like, form.

" _Leave_." Ralph demanded, still glaring daggers at the redhead. He was so sick and tired of Jack and his lot picking on everybody, it annoyed and angered him to no end. The redhead narrowed his eyes at the shorter blonde, clenching his jaw. He did not like to be ordered around, especially by someone younger and smaller than him, but he always ended up listening to Ralph for some reason.

"Choir, c'mon, let's go." The group of boys, better known now as the choir, obediently followed the redhead who already began to make his way down the hall to the staircase.

Simon took notice to all the boys. There were about five of them, six including Jack. One boy in particular Simon took note of. He had this dark demeanor about him, and gave off a mystical aura, that Simon took interest in. The other also had dark, raven black hair like his own, and dark eyes, opposite to Simon's, light, forest green eyes. He was very pale and looked to be around Jack's height, maybe a little shorter, so he towered over Simon who only stood at 5'5. Opposed to Simon's small, slim form, the other boy had a muscular build with broad shoulders and a toned abdomen. Simon noticed that the other boy kept looking at him, but whenever Simon met his gaze, he looked away. This intrigued Simon for some reason.

"Hey, are you okay?" Simon jumped a little as he was pulled from his thoughts and back into reality. The fair haired boy was talking to him.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine." Simon quietly mumbled. "Thanks by the way."

"Hey, no problem. Jack and his choir are real arseholes sometimes; and by 'sometimes', I mean all the time."

"Yeah…" Simon agreed, chuckling a little, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He was never good with verbally talking to people and keeping a conversation going, he was more of the listening type.

"So you're the new kid everyone keeps blabbing about, hmm? You're the talk of the day," The blonde smiled at the other boy before asking. "Oh, I didn't catch your name."

"Simon." The dark haired boy stated, extending a hand, smiling shyly at the other. He partly wondered how everyone already knew about his arrival to the school, but he didn't ask.

"Nice to meet ya, Simon. I'm Ralph." The other greeted with a large grin, taking Simon's hand and shaking it once. "Hey, can I see your schedule? I want to see if we have any classes together."

Simon obliged, handing the other his schedule. He hadn't even gotten a chance to look at it yet, so he had no idea what classes he had. Or where they were located…

"Hey we actually have like five classes together; Honors English One, History, Geometry, Art, and study hall." Simon smiled, relieved that someone that he kind of knew was in the majority of his classes. "You're taking choir?" Ralph asked, concern in his tone.

"Uh, yeah… I enjoy singing a bit." Simon chuckled to himself nervously.

"Well I don't take choir… And ,well, Jack and his group are going to be in there with you, which means if something happens, I can't prevent it. Sure, he and his lot aren't the only ones _in_ choir, but I don't know if any of the others would be willing to stand up to a prick like him. Nobody wants to be their next 'victim'." Ralph explained. He knew for sure that Jack was somebody whom everyone either feared or admired, he was kind of two faced. It was a strange combination, but Jack's actually a fairly well student who gets great grades in almost all his classes, yet he was also a rebel in a way, he got away with most of the stuff he's done because he acts like the teachers pet in every single class; teachers and administrators find it hard to believe that Jack would do most of the stuff he's been reported doing. It's not the same for someone like Roger who, to be fair, also gets decent grades, but he is literally feared by everyone, teachers included.

"Isn't there an adult or teacher in there?"

"Well I'm not really sure. You see, Jack is 'head boy' in there, so he sometimes takes charge from what I've heard."

"You think I'd be okay to stay in choir? Or do you think I ought to quit?" Simon asked warily. Even though he loved choir and singing, he'd quit if it meant avoiding anymore bullying.

"I mean, I'm sure you'd be okay, you don't have to quit."

Simon nodded in response and carefully took back his schedule, and turned to his dorm room. Before Ralph went back to where he was supposed to be, Simon quickly asked him.

"Hey ,uh, can you help me with my dorm?" Chuckling, Ralph nodded and proceeded to help the dark haired boy out. Boy did he know these dorms were a pain to open, he spent all freshman year struggling with his own.

"You have to push back on the door and then twist the knob. Like this." Ralph pushed back on the door, twisting the key to the right and turned the knob. The dorm room opened, door creaking just slightly. Simon thanked him quietly and walked in.

"Don't you have to be getting back to class?" The dark haired boy asked, not wanting to cause the blonde to get in trouble.

"Nope. Actually, I was sent here to see if you were settling in okay, and to go over the basic rules with you. I was sent by Mrs. Morgan. You remember her, right?" Simon nodded. "Well, I'm kinda in student council and this period is my study hall, so she sent me here since I have gotten all my work done."

"Oh. Well what are the rules?"

"Well there is a lot of em'. Let's start off with dress code. Well during school hours, 7:15 a.m. through 3:25 p.m, you must be wearing your school uniform. There are a few of them in your closet. After school hours and weekends is when you can dress how you want. You'll get punished in someway if you break these rules. Along the line of clothing, washing your own laundry is pretty important here. Nobody else washes your clothes, so it's up to you. The uniforms don't need washing until about a week's wearing. I'll show you where everything is later on today. Also, showers. You are required to shower at least every other day, no exceptions. You can shower early in the morning before class, or you can wait till sometime after, doesn't matter. There are two clean towels on your dresser. You'll also be responsible for washing those. Uhm… oh, yeah. Lights out at 11:00 p.m. or earlier. No later. A lot of boys break this rule, but don't get caught, but when they do get caught, they usually just have to start going to bed at a set time; which rarely any of them do. But you are allowed to shower at any hour during the night which I find pretty ironic. Waking hours are at least 6:45 a.m. to at least make yourself presentable before class. Also, you mustn't skip class, or go out without permission. Blah, blah, blah…"

"That sure was a mouthful." Simon laughed, but also still trying to mentally memorize the rules. "Are those the most important ones?"

"Eh, basically. Just don't break em' and you'll be fine." Ralph assured with a small smile, flicking his blonde bangs out of his eyes.

Simon nodded, smiling back to the other before turning and looking at what was now his room for the rest of the year. It was very plain and bland, the walls were painted an off white, cream color, and the dim lighting in the room gave it a more depressing mood. Right across from the door there was a plain oak wood dresser with a small mirror on it. Across from that was a very uncomfortable looking bed with a small wooden table to the right of it, to the left was a small closet where his school uniforms were kept. It was a fairly small, boring room, but Simon thought he could manage.

"You ready to go see where everything is?" Ralph after Simon had set his bag down.

"Yeah, let's go."

It was last period which Ralph was also dismissed from by the counselor. The school hours were almost up, but luckily for them, Ralph had managed to show everything to Simon before the other boys were let out of class. Ralph had shown him all his classes, the lunch room, laundry room, library, and his own dorm, where they were now hanging out until the dismissal bell rings.

"So, I was told there wasn't any bullying going on at this school, but from what I've seen so far, that's not particularly true, is it?" Ralph shook his head, laying on his bed with his hands behind his head.

"Nah. It's not really true. The majority of this school is bully free, it's mainly Jack and his prick group that go around picking on people. Don't get me wrong though, there are still some others, but their not quite as bad. They never get caught because nobody ever complains about them, and if they do, nobody ever does anything about it; It's partially because Jack acts like an angel in front of all the teachers and administrators, they have a hard time believing the bad things people have reported about Jack. I find that extremely ridiculous and unfair, but I can't do anything about it except try to prevent it myself. The other half of it is people are just genuinely terrified about what would happen if they did happen to report them. People just fear them and I'm getting pretty sick of them messing with weaker, smaller kids just for fun, and not getting in any kind of trouble." Ralph explained with a sigh.

"What makes everyone so afraid of them? Surely the head of the school would do something if they were really as bad as what people make them out to be." At Simon's past schools there had never been a bully or group of bullies whom everyone initially feared. He wondered how bad they had to be for a large amount of people to actually genuinely fear them.

"Like I said, not one teacher believes Jack is capable of all the things he's actually done, not even the headmaster, they all refuse to believe it because Jack is such a good student, academic wise anyways. Sometimes people believe anything- literally anything, there has been a few rumors about what Jack and his choir have done, but nobody knows if they're true or not. People are afraid of them because of what they're actually capable of doing, and the rumors of what they're capable of doing; whether it be beatings, teasing, torture, rape, you name it."

" _Rape?_ " Simon asked in disbelief, shocked that teens his age have actually raped someone, especially another boy. Ralph nodded.

"Yeah, I've heard that they've actually went as far as raping someone before, on more than one occasion too, but it's only a rumor, it hasn't actually been proven. I still try to steer clear of Jack and his choir just in case, it's probably best if you do the same and don't wander around school alone. When classes end, in about nine minutes or so, I am going to introduce you to my friends, so you'll have more people to back you up and stuff. They're really cool. I haven't got too many close friends, but these three are the greatest friends a guy could ask for. I'm sure you'll like em'." Ralph grinned at the other boy, who smiled back.

"Great! I could use some friends around here." Simon chuckled, folding his arms over his chest. He was actually really surprised that he had made a friend so early upon his arrival, usually people wanted nothing to do with him. He was far beyond thankful that he had met Ralph today and had actually been accepted and welcomed.

The bell rung a few moments later, piercing the the silence with a loud, harsh shriek. Simon jolted up from his chair, almost losing his balance as he did so. Ralph laughed, sitting up, swinging his legs over to the side of the bed. Simon flushed, chuckling nervously, running a hand through his dark locks, obviously embarrassed.

"You'll get used to it." Ralph managed to say through his laughing fit. "Trust me, it catches everyone off guard if they're not expecting it."

Simon nodded, "I can see why." He laughed, straightening his posture.

Ralph stood, stretching his arms out, and made his way over to the door. "Just follow me. My friends and I like to meet up after school hours in the auditorium most of the time."

Ralph opened the door, stepping aside, so Simon could come out, and closed the door behind them, pocketing the key. They both made their way through the now crowded hallway, worming through the mass of other boys, arriving to the staircase that led down to the auditorium. Most of the other boy's were not as short as Simon was, so he felt like a midget compared to them all.

When they finally arrived to the auditorium, Ralph opened the door for Simon, who nodded in thanks and walked in, Ralph trailing behind him. The blonde tapped Simon's shoulder and pointed to a table where three boys sat, quietly chatting about something.

Simon first noticed the two boys that mirrored each other's images, both having long, shaggy, dark brown hair, and bright blue eyes. They were both smiling identical smiles, one was wearing plaid, while the other, stripes. Even when sitting down, Simon noticed both boys were very tall and slim.

Simon looked over to the other boy at the table, noticing his glasses gleaming in the light. He had short, light brown hair, that matched his eyes. He was a little on the chubby side, his round face was smiling cheerfully as he looked towards Ralph and himself.

"Hey, Ralph!" The chubbier boy ushered the blonde over, Ralph took the dark haired boy's upper arm in his hand, guiding him over to the quiet table.

"Guys, this is Simon. He is new and he'll be hanging out with us for the rest of the year. Simon, this is Sam and Eric, obviously as you can tell, they're identical twins."

"I'm Sam-" The one in the stripes piped up.

"-And I'm Eric." The other said, smiling welcomingly.

"Nice to meet you two." Simon greeted with a smile, awkwardly folding his arms in front of himself.

"Simon, this is Pi-" Ralph started, but got cut off by the chubbier boy.

"Hi, I'm _Peter_. Nice to meet ya." Peter interrupted, eyeing Ralph sharply, who put his hands up in defense.

"Nice to meet you too." Simon smiled, looking between the two. If one were to look at the group of boys, they would have never guessed that they were all friends. They looked like they were all from totally different cliques; The twins looked more on the athletic, jock side, Peter, looking the complete opposite, looked to be part of some academical, nerdy club, and, well, Ralph looked to be in the clique with all the popular kids with good looks and amazing grades. Honestly Simon would have never guessed in a million years that the four of them were friends.

Ralph and Simon sat down, they all began talking to each other with ease as if they've known each other their entire talked about school, sports, girls, this weekends plans, and about their home life. Simon enjoyed the conversation and company of the others. He hadn't had many friends in the past, so he was glad he could be able to make some so quickly upon his arrival. Somehow they landed upon the subject of Jack and his lot.

"I hate them so much. How do they think it's okay to do that?! They should get punished!" Peter continued to rant on how much he hated Jack and his group of choirboys, using hand motions to express himself. Simon didn't know what to say, so he just stayed quiet while the conversation went on.

"Today I was just walking to class, minding my own business, when Jack Merridew and Roger came over and shoved me into a wall. My stuff went all over the floor! All my papers that I had managed to organize, now all a mess! I can't hardly believe that they'd do that when so many people were around too. Though, nobody said nothing to stop it." Peter raged, pushing his specs up higher onto the bridge of his nose.

"Who's Roger?" Simon found himself asking quietly. The other boys glanced at each other before Eric broke the silence.

"He's like Merridews right hand, always picking fights and teasing other kids, just like Jack himself. I think Roger is worse though."

"I agree. I've seen what he can do to people. You don't want to mess with him, Simon." Sam warned.

"Seems like bad business. What does he look like?" Simon asked, curious about this Roger character.

"Well he has black hair just like you, dark eyes that seem like they can see into your soul,-"

"-He is also pretty tall, I've heard he is 6'2, really close to Jack's 6'4."

"He is always wearing black too. It's like he's gothic or something." Sam and Eric giggled at this for a minute before going back to the subject at hand.

"Just stay away from him, he is just-"

"-all kinds of creepy." Sam finished.

Simon nodded, his thoughts went back to the dark haired boy he'd seen in Jack's group. He really wanted to know more about that boy for some reason, but he didn't want to risk getting beaten up, so for now, he decided to keep his distance.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._

Simon awoke to the beeping of his alarm clock. He hastily turned over and hit snooze, sinking back down into the warmth of his blanket, allowing the darkness to overflow his thoughts once more. He only got to rest for another minute until his alarm went off again.

With a groan, Simon threw off his covers and sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily. He dreaded today, not wanting to go to any classes and be introduced in front of everyone. He hated being the center of attention. Almost as much as he hated talking in front of large groups of people. He hoped to God, he didn't have to speak in front of any classes. He'd freeze like a statue, stutter, it would be a nightmare.

Simon put his head in his hands and sighed. When he removed his hands, he noticed warm, dark liquid that smeared his hands. Realizing what it was, Simon quickly covered his nose with his hand and went straight over to the small mirror on his dresser. He didn't have any tissues or anything to help stop the bleeding, so he needed to go to the washroom and get some toilet paper or something.

He looked back at his clock, which read, '6:43'. He decided he had enough time to quickly go get something for his nosebleed and come back to get ready. He opened the door, seeing that most boys haven't even left their rooms yet, and quickly made his way down the hall to the washroom.

He entered the washroom and made his way over to the sink. He realized, looking in the mirror, that he looked terrible. His dark hair, messy, the skin under his nose, stained with dry blood, he had small undereye circles from stress. Deciding to ignore how he looked, Simon turned the left faucet, allowing warm water to seep through the spout. He cupped his hands, bent down, and let the warm water splash onto his face a few times, waking it up. He wetdown a paper towel, and started to wipe his nose.

This is just one of the side effects of epilepsy; constant nosebleeds. Some of the others include, fainting, seizures, and spacing out a lot. Epilepsy is another one of the reasons Simon has gotten bullied a lot. People like to poke fun at him for his condition. He didn't want anyone from this school to know, so he had to be careful. He didn't want to lose his friends, thinking he was a freak.

He wiped down his nose as best as he could. Just in case another one of these incidents occurred, Simon decided to take a few paper towels with him. Before he left he combed through his hair with his fingers and patted down his bangs. Not quite as messy as before, but still not 'presentable' he thought, as he ran his fingers through the mop of black hair yet again.

He stopped what he was doing when he saw a shower curtain open from behind him in the mirror. There stood the half naked body of none other than, Roger. Simon couldn't help but stare. Roger's upper body was so well built and muscular, it was glistening in the light, from still being somewhat damp. His black hair was shiny from the water still in it. He draped another towel over his shoulder, as he ran his other hand through his hair.

Finally noticing Simon staring at him from the mirror, Roger looked into the mirror, meeting the others bright eyes. Simon's heart skipped a beat, as they locked gazes. Simon quickly broke the awkward eye contact, grabbed the paper towels, and rushed out of the washroom.

' _What was I thinking_?' Simon thought, keeping his gaze locked to the ground as he walked down the hall.

When Simon arrived back to his room, he was surprised to see Ralph standing there, leaning on the door.

"Hey, there you are! Thought you locked yourself in your room for a second there." Ralph said, chuckling slightly. "Go on and get ready, I'll wait out here for you. Gotta be quick, seven-fifty is when breakfast ends."

Simon nodded and opened his dorm room, still having a little trouble. He quickly grabbed a uniform out of his closet and slid it on. It was a bit large, but he found himself not caring. He quickly put on deodorant and grabbed his comb, untangling his hair. When his hair flopped just the way he wanted it to, he decided he was ready. He opened the door, greeted with a grinning Ralph.

"They never seem to get the right uniform sizes." He chuckled, studying Simons, too large uniform.

"I can tell." Simon giggled, spreading his arms wide, his sleeves going past the length of his arms. Simon closed the door behind himself, before he and Ralph started their way down to the cafeteria, where they soon met up with Sam, Eric, and Peter. They all conversed about their classes for the day, while Peter mildly complained about having gym with Jack Merridew first period. Eventually the talking subsided when all five of them were too engrossed in finishing their breakfast before the bell rung for class to start.

The first three classes of the day were just fine. Simon wasn't introduced in front of everyone like he'd expected to be, and he had been seated near his new friends in all of the classes. He was now in the last 10 minutes of 3rd period, Geometry. He was too nervous to pay attention to the lesson, thinking about his next class. Choir. None of his friends were in there and all the people he was supposed to avoid were. He made a mental note to stay in the shadows and keep his mouth shut, with the exception of singing. He did not want to be noticed by any of them.

While still deep in his thoughts, the bell shrieked, catching the dark haired boy off guard once again. He heard Ralph and Peter snickering behind him. He turned around with a sheepish smile etched onto his face and chuckled with the two others.

All three of the boys shuffled out of the classroom rather quickly, neither wanting to be late for their next class. Before they parted ways, Ralph patted Simon on the back reassuringly and smiled kindly, giving the smaller boy a little confidence as he trudged off to the music room for choir.

Simon opened the door, silently slipping through and walking to the back of the music room. He noticed the black mass of choir boys, all wearing dark togs, and caps with silver badges on them. He searched the room for an instructor or teacher but only saw a tall boy with his fiery red hair somewhat hidden under a black cap with a gold badge on it, in the front. Jack seemed to be lecturing his choir on how the bass' keep hitting the wrong note.

He debated whether he should make his presence known by going up there and telling the headboy that he is new and needs a choir uniform, or just sitting back, waiting till the end of class to approach him. His debating was cut short when a strawberry blonde looked his direction and pointed, causing most eyes to fall on him.

"Hey, look who t'is, chief." The strawberry blonde interrupted Jack's small lecture, smiling like an idiot. Simon internally scowled and crossed his arms over his chest, dropping his gaze to the floor.

"Are you supposed to be here, newbie?" The redhead asked dumbly, slightly annoyed he was interrupted for such a pointless reason, he put his hands on his hips and stared at the smaller boy from across the room.

Simon nodded his head, he didn't want to try talking, thinking he may stutter or not be able to at all. A few light chuckles were heard, making Simon's grip on his arms tighter. He visibly froze, unable to remove his eyes from the floor.

"Well…" Jack said, expectantly. "Don't just stand there. Come and join the group. I'll have to get you a uniform tomorrow."

Simon obeyed and stiffly made his way over to the large mass of choirboys. He felt uncomfortable and awkward. He could feel eyes on the back of his head, but he managed to ignore it and focus on the music most of the others were making with their mouths. Simon didn't know the songs they were singing right away, but easily caught on by the end of the class.

Simon was thankful the bell was drown out by the voices of the other's singing, so he didn't jump out of his skin when he heard it. He was also thankful the awkwardness was over for right now and he focused on peacefully making his way to art on time. Ralph had this class with him, so it couldn't be so bad. Besides, Simon loved art. He loved to draw and sketch out different ideas. Sometimes he would take a notebook and a pencil outside with him and sketch out the scenery. It always managed to relax him.

There was only one problem; Simon had totally forgotten where the art room was. He tried to remember Ralph showing it to him, but he just couldn't think. He looked around. Most boys had already reached their next classes and the hallways were pretty deserted. Behind him he saw that strawberry blonde. Even though that guy was in Jack's lot, he did seem nicer and laid back than the others. Maybe Simon was just crazy. ' _Oh well._ ' Simon thought, as he turned around and walked back to the other boy who gave him a confused look.

"Hey… I'm kinda lost… Do you know where the art room is?" Simon asked timidly. The strawberry blonde just chuckled and ruffled the shorter boy's dark hair.

"Yeah. I'm actually headed there now. I'm probably going to be late though and so will you. Just follow me." The other boy said cooly, with a goofy smile.

"Alright, thanks." Simon mumbled, walking side by side with the strawberry blonde, having to do a double shuffle every few steps to keep up.

"Hey, what's your name?" Simon asked as casually as possible. At least he was _trying_ to start a conversation, he should get points for that.

"Maurice." The strawberry blonde announced proudly. "What's yours?"

"Simon." The dark haired boy replied, grinning slightly up at the taller boy.

"Cool. You don't seem half bad actually." Maurice stated, smiling, staring straight ahead.

"Uh.. Thanks." Simon had no idea how to respond to that, so he just chuckled along with the other boy.

They finally arrived to the art room, only a couple minutes late. Ralph smiled and motioned Simon to come sit by him. Simon strode over to Ralph's table and sat down on the not-so-comfy barstool.

"Hey sorry, I kinda forgot where this room was." Simon apologized, giggling a bit.

"It's fine. This is a pretty big school anyways..." Ralph trailed off, "Hey.. Did you walk here with _Maurice?_ " He asked, gazing over at the strawberry blonde who took a seat at a table with a large group of boys.

"Yeah. He let me walk with him because I had no idea where I was going. He isn't like Jack I don't think, he seems more down to earth and accepting." Simon shrugged, pulling out a pencil and piece of paper from his binder.

"You think?" Ralph asked, mouth agape. Simon nodded in response and started to sketch out what was drawn on the board in the front of the room.

"Yeah. He didn't mess with me or say anything rude. Plus, he could have easily led me to the wrong classroom, but he didn't. He also said that 'I didn't seem half bad', whatever that means. I took it as a compliment." Simon explained, laughing at himself.

"Huh. Well maybe he's different. I still don't quite trust him and I don't think you should either. Just not right away. He _is_ still in Jack's lot, which is made up of rude, arsehole choir members."

"I don't trust him, don't worry. I still barely know the guy." Simon stated, focusing on his drawing at hand.

After class, Ralph and Simon headed off towards Sam and Eric's shared dorm room to meet up with them and Peter before lunch. Simon felt like he'd been waiting there for hours before the twins finally appeared, Peter trailing a little further behind, face flushed from trying to keep up.

"Sorry guys. Mr. Glistman was holding us back from class until we finished our notes." Sam giggled, turning to Eric who was smiling goofily.

"It's alright. You guys ready?" Ralph asked, receiving nods from everyone.

They all quietly chatted amongst themselves as they followed the crowd of eager boys to the cafiteria for lunch. All five of them quickly went to their usual table and set their things down, claiming it before anyone else decided to and then walked to the lunch line.

"Why can't they ever serve anything good here?" Peter whined, eyeing the food the lunch ladies were handing out with disgust.

"I know right? Last time they served hotdogs, I swore I saw blue and purple in the 'meat'. Ralph said, emphasizing the word 'meat'.

"I bet it's made out of animal tongue,-" Sam started, cringing up his face.

"-And dog food." Eric finished, laughing with his mirror image.

"Probably is." Ralph agreed, scrunching up his face in disgust.

Simon almost gagged when he caught sight of the food they were serving today. It looked like someone chewed up bits of meat, spit them out, and then made them into sandwiches on stale hamburger buns.

"Does the food here always look like that?" Simon asked, hopeful that this is not an everyday thing he has to deal with.

"Eh, mainly only the lunches are like that. Partly because some punishments for other boys is to help cook the food at lunchtime. Usually dinner is pretty good, or at least I think so anyway. So you have something to look forward to tonight." Peter assured, shrugging, grabbing a plastic tray and taking a slop sandwich.

"Good." Simon did not want to be torchured with terrible tasting food. Not to mention he didn't partly trust the food made by other boys, thinking they've poisoned it or put something gross into it.

When they all arrived back at their table with their trays, they all began to have a conversation about something Simon hadn't payed attention to. His focus was on earlier today, in the washroom. He hoped Roger hadn't seen his nosebleed or anything. He didn't feel like being picked on because of his dumb condition he couldn't do anything about. Simon partly wondered why he had been unable to keep from staring at the other dark haired boy. He hadn't thought of it much before, but he was almost certain he did not find guys attractive. Right? He couldn't have thought Roger looked attractive. That wasn't… right. It was wrong. Simon decided that it was the slight blood loss that got to his brain. There was no way he could think any guy to be attractive.

Simon was still deep in thought when the snapping of fingers near his face made him jump back into reality.

"You okay, Simon?" Ralph asked, mildly concerned about his new friends constant spacing out. Simon nodded and tried his best to pay attention to the current conversation about… He still had no idea.

"Well, I still think he is obsessed with you." Peter said to Ralph who just rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"I think _you_ are out of your mind." Ralph retorted, crossing his arms. "It doesn't even make sense anyways. We hate eachother's guts- there is no logic behind that rumor-" Ralph was cut short by Peter clearing his throat loudly.

"Speak of the devil." Peter mumbled under his breath, dropping his eyes to his tray and lowering his head. Simon looked around them only to see Jack Merridew, Roger, Maurice, and a couple others heading straight for their table. Simon caught the gaze of Roger, who was staring intently at him, but he quickly adverted his eyes and shoved his hands into his pockets as he and the others continued to walk over.

"Jack, what the hell do you want now?" Ralph asked harshly, standing up from his chair to face Merridew.

"Oh, nothing. Just came by to see how you guys are doing." Jack said, obviously lying.

"Get lost, Jack! Nobody at this table wants you here." Peter suddenly butted in, in a hateful voice.

"You shut up, fatty!" Jack spat, his tone sharp, glaring daggers at the chubbier boy, who now closed his mouth.

"Hey!" Simon hadn't realized he had joined the argument, until all eyes were on him.

"And what are you going to do about it, Newbie?" Jack snarled, towering over the smaller boy.

"Jack, you touch him and I'll kill you." Ralph warned, stepping in between Simon and Jack, shoving the redhead away with surprising force. Of course Ralph would never actually _kill_ Jack, but he would definitely throw in a few punches that were almost certain to hurt.

" _Awe_ , Simon's little hero is here to protect him. Look at that." Jack's voice mocked, turning to Roger and then Maurice who were silent. Usually they'd both be snickering and messing with their target as well, but both boys were hesitant to pick on Simon. Maurice had sort of befriended the boy in the hallway earlier in the day. Roger, for some unknown reason, just couldn't find it in himself to pick on the smaller raven haired boy.

Jack ignored the silence and continued to mock the blonde and dark haired boy.

"Anyways, I don't even think you could lay a hand on me, Ralphie. You're simply too wea-" Jack didn't even get to finish before Ralph punched him in the jaw, sending him stumbling back in surprise. He raised a hand to the side of his face where he was hit and raised a slender brow at the small blonde who actually dared to do that to him. If it were anybody else, he would have caused the person to end up regretting they ever did that, he'd have them literally begging for mercy. But this was Ralph, he wouldn't dare lay a hand on him, even though he liked to tease him verbally, he'd never try to physically hurt him, or let anyone physically hurt him for that matter.

"Now. Do we need anymore demonstrating or are you going to leave?" Ralph questioned, shaking his hand out as if he had burnt it, smirking proudly. Jack just scoffed, holding his jaw with his right hand. The redhead secretly loved this side of the blonde, the side where he'd literally stand up for anyone and if he absolutely had to, he'd get in a fight for them. Although Jack thought that a punch to the jaw was a little uncalled for… he probably deserved it though.

The redhead had decided that now was not the time to get into a fist fight, and motioned for his choir to follow him out of the cafeteria. After they had left, Sam, Eric, Peter, and Simon were congratulating Ralph, saying how awesome that was, and how priceless the look on Jack's face was.

"Thanks, Ralph… Again." The dark haired boy laughed, to which he received a nod. Simon didn't like people standing up for him like that. Yes, he was appreciative, but he didn't want to be the reason someone gets hurt. He'd rather be the one to get punched in the face, not Ralph. It was never easy for the small raven haired boy to stand up for himself, for everyone thought he was too fragile and weak. Simon was never one to resort to violence either, so that was another reason he found it hard to stand up for himself or anybody else.

After lunch, Simon and Ralph went to study hall. They spent the whole class in the library, messing around. It was near empty, but since Ralph was in student council, he had access to a lot more places and things regular students didn't have. So, with the teacher's permission, he and Simon were allowed into the library, where they messed around and laughed until their sides hurt.

Last period was another class Simon had been anxious about. None of his friends were in there and he was going to have to sit there awkwardly for 45 minutes. He also had no particular interest in science anyways. Yeah, he did really love nature and wildlife and all that, but not _that_ much.

With the directions of Ralph, Simon had arrived to the science room. He was a little early, but that was good, it gave him time to observe the classroom and see where his seat was before most of the students piled in. He walked over to the desk in the front that belonged to the teacher. She looked at him for a minute before smiling cheerfully.

"Hullo! You must be our new student. I'm Ms. Reagan. Welcome to science class. If you have any questions or problems, feel free to see me anytime after the lesson." Ms. Reagan welcomed. "You're seat will be to the right in the very back of the class, next to… Roger, I believe."

Simon's heart skipped a beat when he heard that name. He couldn't be seated next to Roger. That must be a mistake or something. _Yeah_. Or there is a completely different Roger in this class. Simon nodded and headed back to his assigned seat, carefully scooting his chair as far away from the other chair as possible.

The bell tardy bell rung, and there was still no sight of Roger. Relieved, Simon allowed his shoulders to relax a little, but he still stared at the door, half expecting Roger to appear any moment.

As if his thoughts had magically come true, Roger walked in with an extremely bored expression on his face and looked towards the teacher, waiting to be yelled at.

"Roger, you're late. Do you have a tardy pass?" Ms. Reagan asked, already knowing what the answer would be.

"No.." Roger trailed off, a small, almost nonexistent, smirk played across his face. Ms. Reagan sighed before motioning Roger to go to his seat, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"This is the last time, Mr. Elwin. Now go sit down."

Roger's small smirk turned into a small smile, he nodded his head once, turning to where he sat, but stopping dead in his tracks once he saw the smaller dark haired boy sitting next to where he was supposed to sit. For some reason his heart started beating faster as he started to make his way over to his seat again. He pulled out the chair and took a seat, not risking looking at the other boy just yet. He put his hand over his mouth to muffle a low chuckle as he saw from the corner of his eye, Simon scooting further away from him.

Roger wondered what kind of warnings the smaller boy had received from other people to avoid himself and Jack. But for some reason he wanted to clear up those rumors. He didn't want the smaller boy to be afraid of him. Jack was another story, but he didn't want anyone making the smaller boy think that Roger was scary and he should avoid him.

Roger put his head in his hands, elbows on the desk and thought about why he kept thinking these ridiculous thoughts. First of all, Roger was never one to feel remorse after picking on anyone, he had never had a problem with it. But when Jack had suggested messing with Simon, he felt guilty and bad, and he didn't want to do it anymore, though he would never admit it.

Secondly, Roger was feared by basically the whole school; some teachers included. He was used to people avoiding him and getting as far away from him as they could. It never really bothered him, In fact, he kind of found it kind of amusing. But when he noticed the fear and hesitation in Simon's eyes and actions, he actually wanted to comfort the boy. Heaven knows why. Roger was beyond confused by these feelings, they weren't necessarily _bad_ feelings, they were just… new. He wanted them to go away and for everything to return to normal.

Roger decided that later on he would confront the boy. Just to talk and to see if there is anything behind how he feels for this boy.

The rest of class, Roger tried to focus on something else rather than the boy just a foot from him. On the other hand, Simon couldn't stop thinking about Roger. He kept looking over to the other boy, wondering why he couldn't get him out of his head.

Simon was once again lost in his thoughts, staring lazily nothing. Suddenly the shriek of the dismissal bell filled his ears, breaking him out of his thinking. He jumped and almost fell out of his chair, if it weren't for the strong hand that steadied him by the shoulder.

Embarrassed, Simon flushed and avoided eye contact by looking down at his belongings, but he thought it was rude to not thank the person who caught him.

"Uhm… Thanks…" Simon mumbled, running a hand through his dark hair, still not looking up.

"No problem." The other chuckled. Simon almost lost his balance again as he heard the voice. He had totally forgotten Rogers presence as he soon realized that, that voice belonged to Roger.

Simon looked up to meet a lightly smirking Roger who had his bag slung over his shoulder, hand still gripping the smaller boy's shoulder. Their eyes met, dark brown eyes met bright green eyes, neither of them looked away this time. They gazed at each other for some minutes before Roger cleared his throat loudly and turned away, letting go of Simon in the process. Simon looked around the now empty room, not even the teacher was in there anymore. ' _How long had they been looking at each other?_ ' Simon wondered, picking up his things and silently making his way over to the door. Roger followed behind him, mentally cursing himself for not having said anything more.

They both exited the classroom and parted ways. Little did they know, both of them were thinking about each other for the rest of the day.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

It was Saturday, which meant Simon didn't have to wake up super early for class, and got the freedom to sleep in however late he wanted to. He was never a morning person, so when he heard obnoxious knocking on his dorm room door, he wanted to throw something at whoever was there. He grouchily got up, looking over at his alarm clock. '9:28 a.m.' it read. Simon groaned loudly as he trudged to the door, not even bothering to make himself look presentable.

The knocking was not quitting anytime soon, seeming to get even louder and faster as Simon approached. He opened the door and was greeted by an enthusiastic, soccer uniform wearing, Ralph. Ralph practically ran into the room, he quickly closed the door behind himself and Simon, looking at the other boy excitedly.

"Hey! I forgot to tell you that I have a game today, and I wanted to invite you if you don't have anything planned. Sorry for the really short notice." Ralph stopped for a second, taking a better look at the shorter boy in front of him. "Hey, did you just get up?" He asked, noticing the other boy's bed head and tired facial expression. Simon nodded and planted a small smile on his face.

"I don't have anything planned for today, i'll be happy to attend your game." Simon said cheerfully. "When does it start?"

"12:30, in about three hours. Peter, Sam, and Eric will be there too and will save you a seat. I have practice in about an hour and a half, so I can hang out with you guys for a while before it starts." Ralph said, fixing his jersey, tucking it in his shorts better.

"I can wait outside your room so you can get ready if you want. It's pretty chilly outside, so I recommend wearing long sleeves or a jacket or something." Ralph suggested.

"Alright, thanks."

Ralph left the room and continued to wait for Simon to get ready, outside his dorm. Since it was the weekend, Simon was free to wear what he wanted, which he was beyond thankful for. He slipped on a pair of black skinny jeans, and threw on an oversized dark purple sweater. He chose to wear his black Vans. He combed out his dark hair, sweeping his bangs out of his eyes, just for them to fall back down again. When he decided he looked decent, he opened the door to see Ralph and the twins quietly giggling about something.

"Where's Peter?" Simon asked, looking down the hall.

"He's in the library looking through all the nonfiction science books." One of the twins giggled.

I'm "Yeah, he is having the time of his life in there." The other stated, also giggling, nudging his brother.

"This is how he usually spends his weekends. We had to beg him to go to my game today. But he agreed to go, though he isn't very happy about it." Ralph chuckled.

"Really?" Simon asked, giggling. "Doesn't he ever get bored?"

"You would think. But I don't think he does." They all laughed and started down the hall to the staircase, making their way to the library. Upon their arrival, they found the room empty, except for the chubby boy in the corner of the room, curled up with his face nuzzled into a rather large book.

"Aye, Piggy! You about ready?" Ralph asked, yelling from across the room. Scowling, the bespeckled boy got up out of his chair, marking his place in his book, and folding his arms over his chest.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" Peter growled, walking over to the group of boys.

"Right, sorry." Ralph apologized, smiling goofily. "Well, are you ready to go do something? You have to be bored out of your mind here."

"I'm not _bored_. I happen to enjoy reading and knowledge unlike you three fools. I don't know about Simon." Peter said, narrowing his eyes at the twins and Ralph.

"Yeah, you're weird. Anyways c'mon, we're going outside for a bit before my game." Ralph stated, motioning for the four to follow him.

As they walked out the door, Simon realized Ralph wasn't joking when he said it was chilly. To Simon, the cool, fall air was freezing. Simon wrapped his arms around himself and looked at the others, who didn't seemed fazed by the cold at all. The cool wind bit at Simon's face as they started walking along the path that led to the woods behind the school.

The walk and conversations actually made time fly by pretty quickly. Before they knew it, Ralph had departed to go to soccer practice. Peter suggested that they all go back inside and warm up before the actual game started. They all agreed and stiffly made their way back inside to the warmth of the school.

Simon's cheeks were bright red from the cold air, and his hair was a little windblown and messy, but he still didn't look bad. Ralph's game was in a half an hour, so they had barely any time to do anything. They all decided to stay by the doors until the game started, wanting to get good seats in the bleachers before anyone else.

Simon was bored out of his mind, the time he spent waiting felt like days. He sat down against the brick wall and wrapped his arms around his knees and just thought. He thought about nothing in particular, he just wanted the boredom to leave.

Jack and Roger entered the building a few moments later, to which all of Simon's friends froze in place and looked away, not really in the mood for them right now. Simon buried his head in his knees and hugged them tighter, as he heard footsteps coming closer to where he and his friends were. Simon heard muffled voices, but decided to ignore them. He recognized Peter's higher pitched voice, yelling at the two other boys, who chuckled at this, amusingly.

Simon looked up and saw Roger staring at him once again. His face reddened even more at this and he looked away towards Jack who was in a heated argument with Peter. They were cursing and yelling at eachother, Jack looked like he was ready to stab the fatter boy. Simon thought he'd better break it up; or at least try.

Simon stood up and cautiously walked up to the two who were both scowling in disgust and still yelling at eachother. He stopped right in between them and faced Peter.

"Don't you think we ought to go now?" Simon asked quietly, motioning outside, toward the field Ralph was practicing on, insisting on getting away from Jack.

With one last dirty look towards Jack, Peter nodded and they both began to make their way to the door, the twins following closely behind.

Roger still stood there, now watching Simon walk out the school doors with the other three. Jack started laughing and nudged Roger in the side.

"Stop _staring_ , Rog." Jack playfully teased, to which Roger punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"I wasn't staring." Roger said defensively, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What do you call it then?" Jack smirked proudly at the small tint of red that now appeared on Roger's cheeks, but soon regretted it, as Roger then flicked him hard in the forehead and started walking away, on his way to Maurice's dorm room.

Roger and Jack have a strong bond between the two of them. They both could read each other like a book. They knew each other's thoughts and feelings, without even asking having to ask, just by looking at their face. Jack had never told Roger his crush, but Roger knew right off the bat. Though Roger was in denial of this, Jack knew his best friend had a crush on the newbie, and he was going to tease him, just like Roger does to him with Ralph.

Jack chuckled and shook his head, he walked back outside and waited impatiently under the bleachers for the soccer game to start.

Simon, Sam, Eric, and Peter all found a good spot on the bleachers and were ready for the game. Ralph waved to them from on the field, to which all of them waved back. The cold metal bleachers were pretty uncomfortable to sit on, but it didn't really bother Simon, who chose to ignore it. A few minutes later the whistle blew and the game started.

Through the first three quarters of the game, all four boys cheered for Ralph and their home team, who were in the lead by 3 points. The final quarter was close, eleven to ten. One more point and they would win. It meant a lot to Ralph to win this game, it being the last game of the season and all.

Simon watched Ralph expertly travel the field to the opposing team's side, seemingly avoiding all the defense. He passed the ball to his teammate, who kept running, making all the defense focus their attention to him, then when they weren't expecting it, he turned and passed the ball overhead to Ralph, who shot the ball in the net, scoring the winning point. Standing now, Simon cheered and hollered, excitement washing over him. The twins were just as enthusiastic, jumping up and down and cheering as well. Peter stayed seated, clapping loudly.

Ralph yelled some victory cheers and congratulated his teammates, high fiving the one who helped him win the game. His team clapped him on the back and cheered for him too. They shook hands with the other team, who, even though had been defeated, were still good sports.

When Ralph had said his goodbyes to his team, he started over to his friends, but was stopped by a sturdy hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw Jack Merridew, with a smirk on his face.

"Congrats, Ralphie. Well done." The redhead congratulated, seeming a little genuine.

"Thanks, Jack." Ralph wasn't going to let the redhead ruin his good mood.

Jack nodded in response with a smile, Ralph grinned back and turned toward his friends who were now making their way to Ralph, not patient enough to wait for him.

"Hey, good job, Ralph!" Simon congratulated, with a grin etched on his face.

"Thanks!" Ralph smiled back.

"We should do something-" Sam started, also smiling.

"-To celebrate." Eric finished.

"How about pizza?" Ralph suggested, glancing around to all his friends faces for looks of approval.

"Sounds good to me." Peter said, the rest nodding their heads.

"Alright, pizza it is." Ralph said, "Let me go change first."

The five of them walked to Ralph's dorm and waited patiently for him to change out of his soccer uniform, into something more comfortable. Ralph came out in a black sweatshirt and jeans, his messy hair that was stuck to his forehead, now combed down neatly. He smiled at the others and they all went down to the office and signed out for the evening.

Jack took his time walking to Maurice's room, where he was sure Roger would be. He smirked proudly, when he passed other boys that cowered away from him. He loved the feeling of being this feared, heck, he fed off of fear. It made him feel powerful.

Upon arriving to Maurice's dorm, Jack knocked, slightly annoyed that he couldn't just walk into anywhere he pleased. The door opened and Jack was greeted with a smiling Maurice.

"Oi, Roger! Jack's here!" Maurice yelled, to the dark haired boy who was laying on the bed, playing on his phone with a neutral expression written on his face.

Jack walked in and closed the door behind himself. He stood at the foot of the bed, staring at Roger with his arms crossed. Roger looked up from his phone and raised a slender eyebrow. His poker face expression, gradually turning into a small smirk.

"Hey, Jack. Have fun stalking, Ralph?" He asked, teasingly.

"Shut up." The redhead laughed, chucking a pillow at Roger's face.

Roger responded by throwing it back, twice as hard. Jack chuckled and sat down on the edge of the bed, turning his attention to Maurice who was staring at them both.

"You two doing anything this weekend?" Maurice finally questioned, breaking the silence.

"Not that I know of." Jack answered, turning to Roger.

"Nah." Roger said after a long pause.

"Well, I'm not either. Wanna do something?" Maurice asked, hoping not to have a boring weekend.

"Like what?" Jack asked, laying back on Roger's legs, receiving a smack on the head.

"No homo." Jack said, now laughing uncontrollably.

"Aye, don't start a dogpile without me!" Maurice yelled. Before either of them could react, Maurice had jumped onto Jack, who was laying on Roger's legs, now crushing them with the weight of both other boys.

"Bloody hell, Maurice!" Jack managed to get out, his lungs being crushed by the weight of the boy on top of him, who was smiling proudly now. "What did you eat?"

"Two helpings of today's breakfast, and a granola bar, if you must know." Maurice said, shifting his weight, making the other two beneath him grunt.

"Get off." Roger grunted, already losing the feeling in his legs.

Maurice obliged, using Jack's shoulders as support, then extending his hand toward Jack, who took it and hoisted himself up.

"Damn. You guys are heavy." Roger mumbled, also standing up, cracking his back. The other two just chuckled and made their way to the door.

"Want to go mess with some little kids?" Jack asked, glancing between the two in front of him.

"Where are we going to find little kids?" Maurice asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You can find em' anywhere nowadays." Jack smirked, the other two exchange glances and smiles, then all three go to the office to check out for the rest of the day.

Simon, Ralph, Peter, and the twins were sitting at a booth in a pizza restaurant, waiting for the waitress to come back with their bill. All five of them were playing a game, taking turns holding water in their mouth, trying not to laugh by the others. The other people were not allowed to touch the one with water in their mouth. The goal was to try and not spit out the water. It was Ralph's turn at the moment, which was super hard. They've tried everything, but the blonde wouldn't budge. He kept a straight face, only smiling a little, occasionally.

"C'mon, Ralph. Give up already." Peter whined, to which Ralph shook his head stubbornly.

The twins decided to take matters into their own hands. They quietly whispered to one another then got up and made Simon sit on the other side of the booth with Ralph, while they got on either side of Peter.

"Hullo! Welcome to SamnEric's beauty salon! Today we will be demonstrating our 'casual' look on none other than, Peter. You ready, Peter?" Sam asked, trying hard to be serious and not smile.

"Uhm, I did not sign up for this, you two." Peter growled.

"Nonsense! Alright so we're going to start with your…" Eric trailed off, not really knowing any makeup terms.

"Lipstick." Sam stated, grabbing a half eaten piece of pizza and smearing the sauce onto Peter's lips. "Gorgeous!" Sam said in a high pitched voice.

Peter glared at Sam, the pizza sauce was smeared onto half his face, making him look ridiculous. Most of it was around his mouth, making him look like an angry, round-faced clown.

This made Ralph burst out laughing, water going everywhere, all over the table and on all three across from him. Simon covered his mouth, smothering a giggle.

"Alright, alright. You guys win." Ralph managed to say through his laughing fit. All five of them were probably getting noise complaints from other tables nearby, but they could care less.

After about another good five minutes, the waitress finally showed up with their bill. Simon insisted on paying for the whole meal, but Ralph refused to let him pay for it all, and ended up paying for half.

The five of them exited the restaurant, not really wanting to go back to school right away. They started walking, talking about random subjects they happen to land on. When they turned the corner of the block they were on, Peter, who was actually in front of the other four, stopped altogether, making the others all run into each other.

"Hey, look!" Peter pointed to a little shop on the other side of the street. It looked to be a small sweets shop. "My Auntie owns that lil' shop." Peter announced proudly, turning to the others. "I bet if we go in there, she'd give us some free candy."

"I could go for some chocolate right now." Ralph chuckled. The others agreed.

They crossed the street and made their way over to the door of the shop, letting Peter be the first to enter. He opened the door, which sounded a small bell. They all walked over to the counter, where behind, stood a short, plump woman. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a tight knot, she wore a red apron, overtop a white t shirt, and her round cheeks were rosy with blush. She really did look a lot like Peter.

"Peter!" The plump lady, came out from behind the counter and made her way towards Peter, who smiled cheerfully.

"Hullo, Auntie." Peter greeted, his aunt hugging him tightly, then giving him a small peck on the cheek.

"Why, I haven't seen you in forever!" The plump lady, smiled, glad to have seen her nephew on his own time.

"It's nice to see you." Peter said, genuinely thankful to see his aunt. "My friend here," he grabbed Ralph and pushed him forward. "just scored the winning goal at his soccer game today."

"Oh, did ya? Well, congratulations, young man."

"Oh, thank you." Ralph thanked, sweetly.

"Would you boy's like a treat?" Peter's Aunt asked, motioning to all the sweets around the room. The twins eagerly nodded their heads, acting more like obedient dogs, than 15 year olds. "Pick anything you'd like, its on the house." All the boys picked out a treat and thanked Peter's Aunt. They soon left and started heading back to the school.

Jack, Roger, and Maurice on the other hand, were just getting started, scanning the streets for anyone they thought they could get a good reaction out of. They'd already scared a little boy, maybe around nine or ten, to death, by putting on masks and following him wherever he went. He ended up running into a local grocery store, so the three had to bail.

After a few more hours of terrorizing random people, all three called it quits for the day and they started on their way back to the school, laughing and quietly conversating.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

It's been two weeks since Simon had arrived at his new boarding school. He's memorized his schedule and where his classes are located and the bell no longer catches him off guard, unless he's in the middle of deep thinking.

It's been sort of peaceful for the dark haired boy these past couple weeks. Surprisingly enough, Jack and his lot haven't been really trying anything along the lines of picking on Simon or his friends. Yeah, Jack still playfully teases Ralph for fun, but other than that, Simon has felt kind of safe. He hasn't expected it to last much longer though.

It was Friday. Simon, Ralph, Peter, and the twins were all in the auditorium, quietly talking and joking amongst themselves. Even Peter had made a few jokes, but for the most part, he mainly just made sarcastic comments on how childish and dumb the others were being.

"What are you talking about, Peter? We're _mature_." Ralph retorted, a pretend, hurt expression written on his face.

Peter just growled and mumbled something incoherently to himself, and tried to focus on his extra credit english assignment. The others just laughed and carried on the conversation without him, not that Peter minded.

"So, Sam and Eric, what did you guys do to get stuck cooking lunches for the weekend?" Ralph questioned, folding his arms across his chest and looking between the two, now giggling twins.

"We may-" Eric started.

"-Or may not have-" Sam added, looking at his twin, trying to suppress a laugh.

"-Almost set the building on fire by messing around with different test tubes with questionable, unknown liquids inside of them." Eric said, grinning at his twin.

"The lab teacher had to put out the fire we accidentally started." Sam stated, now with a hand over his mouth, covering up a smile.

"Apparently, we are no longer allowed to participate in experiments anymore." Eric laughed, shrugging his shoulders.

"I can see why." Ralph said, chuckling at his friends actions. "Don't you know curiosity killed the cat? You guys could have been hurt or something."

"But we weren't." The twins both said in unison. Ralph just laughed and shook his head. He turned to Simon, who had a small smile on his face.

"Hey, Si, you okay? You seem really quiet today." Ralph asked, concerned. He knew Simon was always quiet, that's just how he was. But he usually joined in the conversations more, and giggled at the jokes that were told. Today, he wasn't doing any of that. He had only said a handful things the whole day, which worried Ralph.

Simon on the other hand, hadn't been feeling well that day. He'd been feeling dizzy and lightheaded since this morning when he woke up. It wasn't as bad earlier that day as it was now. He knew what normally happens when he feels this way, so he was trying his best to stay alert, knowing that anytime, he could easily pass out. He did not want to faint in front of his friends, that would be all kinds of embarrassing, so Simon decided he would tell the others he didn't feel well, and that he is going back to his dorm for the night.

"Actually, no. I think I'm going to head back to my room for the night. I don't feel very well." Simon stated, standing up, trying his best to maintain his balance.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Ralph asked, also standing.

"No, no. I'll be fine, thanks." Simon managed to get out without wincing, putting on a small, reassuring smile.

"Alright. Hope you feel better." Ralph said, smiling gently, sitting back down.

"Thanks. I'll catch up with you guys later." Simon reassured, turning to the exit. He managed to get out the door without stumbling or walking like a drunk, but now it was getting challenging. Thankfully for Simon, not many people were out and about in the halls, so most of his journey back to his dorm was him walking alone.

Roger was on his way back from hanging out with Jack, when he saw the smaller dark haired boy walking, unusually, alone. So he decided to follow, making sure to stay a few meters behind the other. He noticed the other was staggering, and he wondered what was wrong with him.

Simon was still well unaware he was being followed. He tried to focus on getting to his room before he blacked out. His head was spinning now, making it hard for him to keep his balance. He grabbed at the wall with his right hand, clutching his head with his left. His thoughts were jumbled in his head now, as black spots began to overtake his vision. It all became too much for the boy and he collapsed, blacking out in the process.

Roger practically ran over to the collapsed boy, sweeping him up in his arms, holding him close. He ignored the questioning looks he received from other boys as he quickly rushed the unconscious boy to the nurse's office.

When he arrived, the nurse instructed Roger to lay the smaller boy in a cot. Roger must have looked worried because the nurse ensured Simon would be okay, and he just needed to rest. She also stated that these faints were a regular thing with Simon, which confused Roger a little, but he didn't question it, though he would ask Simon about it later.

Roger admitted he was worried. He had no idea why, he hardly even knew the boy. He was given a choice to leave or stay. He decided to stay with the smaller boy until he woke.

After what seemed like days, but was merely only a couple hours, Simon started to stir. He woke, still feeling slightly lightheaded. When his eyes adjusted to the room's dim lighting, he noted he was in the nurse's office. He wondered how he had gotten here and who all had seen his faint. He was worried about being made fun of for this. He was expecting to faint _sooner_ or later, thinking he couldn't go all year without doing so.

Simon sat up slowly, holding his head in his hands, it hurt like hell. The small boy was oblivious of Roger's presence until he went to scan the room for a clock, almost jumping out of his skin when he saw the other boy sitting in a chair beside his cot, staring at him with worried eyes. Roger chuckled lightly at the other boy's reaction.

"Are you okay?" Roger asked, surprising Simon with the concern he was showing. Simon nodded his head in response, shifting his position so he was facing the other boy.

"What are you doing here?" Simon asked, genuinely confused.

"Well, who else do you think brought you here?" Roger chuckled, running a hand through his black hair.

"Oh." Simon said, taking his time to think this through. "And you stayed?" He asked, a small smile making its way onto his face.

Roger nodded, trying to think of an excuse or something to say, but his mind was blank.

"Thank you." Simon said quietly, fiddling with his fingers.

Roger nodded again, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.

"You think you're alright enough to walk?" Roger finally asked, receiving a small nod from the other boy.

Simon quickly got off the cot and stood, Roger soon followed his lead and stood as well. Standing side by side, Roger noticed the extent of their height difference, internally chuckling, but he secretly adored the others size.

Roger took the lead, walking slightly in front of the other boy, opening the door and walking out. He waited for Simon to catch up, knowing his legs were longer than Si's short ones, he purposely started walking slower.

The silence between the both of them was neither awkward nor comforting, as they walked up the stairs that led to the dorm rooms. Roger decided to walk the smaller boy to his dorm, just to ensure he got there safely and to ask about his 'regular faints'.

Passing boys sent them both questioning stares and glances, wondering what the world those two are doing walking _peacefully_ , alone together. It just didn't look right. Some thought they may just be friends, others interpreted it as the two are secretly dating. Of course these rumors have already started traveling around the school.

When they arrived to Simon's dorm room, the smaller boy turned to face the other before unlocking and entering.

"Did you uhm.. Want to come in?" Simon asked, hesitantly.

Roger didn't want to seem rude and invade the boy's space, but since he was offered, he decided to come in, just for a bit.

"Sure." Roger said, as casually as he could. Simon turned and put the key in the slot, fiddling around with it a bit before he got it to open. He motioned for Roger to walk in first, then followed, closing the door behind them both. They both stood there awkwardly before Roger broke the silence.

"So… Those fainting spells you have, their a regular thing you have to deal with?"

Simon froze, not expecting a question like that. He didn't know what to say and didn't want this to be used against him in any way. He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. Roger mentally cursed to himself for making the other boy uncomfortable.

"You know what, forget it." Roger muttered, dropping his gaze to the ground. He started to make his way past Simon to leave, but was stopped by a hand on his chest.

"I-It's a condition." Simon stuttered, hesitant to tell, but figured everyone would find out soon enough.

"Oh."

"Yeah…" Simon trailed off, not sure what else to say.

Roger turned and walked over to Simon's bed, sitting down, patting the space beside him, wanting Simon to come and sit by him. Simon slowly walked over and sat down cautiously beside Roger, who was now crossing his arms.

"Were you trying to hide it from everyone or something?" Roger asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe I was." Simon paused, crossing his arms also. "Why do you want to know?"

"Just curious." Roger said simply. "Why are you trying to hide it?"

"No reason." Simon lied, thinking Roger would just drop the subject and move on. But he didn't. Roger gave him a 'Don't-play-dumb-with-me-I-know-you're-lying' look. Simon sighed in defeat.

"Tell me, would you like it if you had this dumb _condition_ that you couldn't control, prevent, or do anything about? How about if this _condition_ had embarrassing side effects like fainting, nosebleeds, and seizures? Would you like it if the _whole_ entire school knew this about you, then chose to label you as a _freak_? I sure don't like it, and don't want anyone knowing about it because of that. People are cruel." Simon was surprised with the words that seemed to flow with ease from his mouth. Apparently he wasn't the only one shocked from this, seeing Roger's stunned facial expression.

Simon was happy he seemed to have gotten his point across, leaving Roger with no words to say, but that happiness was quickly replaced by confusion as he was pulled into a tight embrace. The hug was stiff, but still quite comforting, as Simon melted into Roger's arms. Simon nuzzled his head in the crook of Roger's neck, inhaling his intoxicating scent of Axe cologne and spearmint. The hug ended too soon for Simon's liking, but he didn't say anything as Roger pulled away.

"You're not a freak. Don't let the words of others get to you." Roger said, soothingly. Simon smiled at the others kind words, but he knew that not letting others get to you was easier said, than done. Roger glanced at the alarm clock by Simon's bed and sighed.

"I should probably get going…" Roger trailed off. "Jack's probably wondering where I am." Roger stood and made his way to the door, glancing back at the smaller boy still sitting on the bed. "I'll see you around, Si." Roger smiled lightly before opening the door and walking out, shutting it gently behind himself.

Simon continued to sit there, going over what had just happened in the last couple of hours, in his head. It was so unusual of Roger to ask about someone else's well being, let alone actually seeming to care about another's feelings. Roger had even _carried_ him to the nurse's office, when he could have easily left him be and walked away. Simon smiled as he remembered the hug they shared right where he was sitting, just a few moments ago.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five:

It was probably the most boring day Simon had, had since he'd came to this school. He was currently sitting in Ralph's dorm room, waiting for the twins to get back from cooking lunches in the cafeteria. Neither Ralph nor Simon talked much, so they both sat there in silence, occasionally exchanging glances. The four of them, minus Peter who had decided he wanted to stay back and read, were planning to go out for the day to the movies. Ralph had insisted on doing something other than going out to eat or staying back and just hanging out, so they all had agreed on going to the movies.

Ralph groaned in annoyance. He had been waiting for what seemed like ages, doing nothing but counting the seconds until the twin's lunch shift was over. He was glad to be accompanied by another person who was just as bored as he was, though he slightly felt responsible for causing the others boredom.

"They should be here any minute now." Simon said, breaking the silence with his small, gentle voice.

Ralph nodded and got up from his comfortable spot on his bed, stretched, then went over to the door, opening it just enough so he could see the oncoming faces of passing boys. Simon too, got up from the chair he was lounging in and made his way to the door, behind Ralph, standing on his toes so he could look over his shoulder.

"Finally." Ralph muttered, relieved to see the identical faces of the twins approaching his door. He opened the door wider, walking out, Simon following behind him. "Took you two long enough." Ralph said with a smile. "We've been waiting _ages_."

"Sorry guys." Eric piped up, grinning sheepishly.

"No big deal. I mean if we had waited any longer, we'd of died from old age or boredom." Ralph exaggerated, causing a giggle to bubble up out of the twins.

"We didn't _ask_ to make lunches." Sam pointed out, laughing.

"That's true, but you _did_ have the punishment coming for you guys." Ralph chuckled, shaking his head.

"Well if you think the fire incident was bad-" Eric started, looking at his twin with a large grin etched into his features.

"-You should have seen what we did in there." Sam finished, laughing guiltily.

"What did you two do this time?" Ralph asked with a pointed look.

"Well, we certainly didn't replace all the salt in the salt shakers with flour." Sam stated, obviously lying.

"And we most definitely did not lick every single slice of cheese that went onto the freshman's sandwiches." Eric added in the same tone as his brother.

"Gross." Ralph said, scrunching up his face in disgust, but soon laughing, along with Simon and the twins, who just shrugged.

"Are you three ready to go to the movies?" Sam asked, changing the subject. He received nods from the other three.

"Okay, let's go!" Eric said, enthusiastically.

All of them made their way to the office to check out, then headed off to the movies. The four of them had no idea what movie they wanted to see, but hoped that they could all agree on something. The choices were between a comedy and a horror film. Although Simon didn't really like scary movies, he went with the majority vote and ended up voting for the horror film. When they got their tickets for the movie, they all ordered a snack at the front desk, and made their way to the room where the movie was going to be played.

The ads lasted around ten minutes and the twins had already eaten almost all of their popcorn. When the actual movie started, it went well. Simon had managed to not get too freaked out the first hour, but the rest of the movie was full of jumpscares, much to Simon's luck. When an image of a demonic little girl filled the screen from out of nowhere, Simon jumped back in his seat and a terrified, embarrassing squeak escaped his lips. His friends were howling with laughter, clapping Simon on the back, telling him that this wasn't real. Simon laughed it off and continued to watch the movie from peeking through his fingers, shielding his eyes when he thought there may be a jumpscare coming up.

After the movie, the four of them made their way out of the theater, starting to walk back. It was around six o'clock p.m. when they had arrived back to the school, just in time for dinner. They casually made their way to the cafeteria, slipping through the growing crowd of boys. They found Peter sitting alone at their usual table, nose deep in a Harry Potter book.

"Have fun?" Peter asked, glancing up for a second, then returning his gaze to his book.

"Yep. You should have been there!" Sam said, smiling goofily at the other three.

"Yeah, you missed it! Simon nearly jumped out of his skin and he screamed!" Eric added, nudging Simon who was red in the face, chuckling.

"Well if the school's bell made me jump, you could have guessed what jumpscares do to me. Hence the name 'jumpscares'." Simon said, giggling, rubbing the back of his neck. The others just laughed and started over to the line for dinner. After they all ate, they made their way to the staircase, parting ways for the night.

Simon walked to his dorm peacefully. He decided to go to bed early tonight so he could wake up early to get a shower before anybody else was up. He slipped off his clothing and changed into his night clothes, which consisted of just a pair of gray sweats and black t-shirt. He set his alarm for '3:30 a.m', thinking that was early enough that nobody would be up. He climbed into bed, bringing the blanket up to his chin, and allowed darkness to encase his thoughts.

Through the whole day, rumors were bubbling around the school about Simon; some were about him and Roger dating, others were just about him in general. Simon had no idea any rumors were even made. They were spreading like a wildfire, even some new ones had been made up. Most of the school now thought of Simon as a weak, batty, social outcast, just because he had fainted. It was crazy, the things said about the poor boy. None of the things were true, but people didn't seem to care or try to find something that could prove the words said about the boy, they just believed them.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep._ Simon groaned as his alarm went off. He rolled over and turned it off, sitting up and rubbing his eyes, sleepily. He hated waking up early, especially this early. But he enjoyed the peaceful silence and being alone with everyone else still asleep. He quickly grabbed his toiletries, clean clothes, and towel, heading out his dorm room, into the hall.

The halls were lonely and empty. The only light visible, was coming from the windows along the walls where the moon was gleaming through, casting shadows across the floor and walls. Simon cautiously made his way down the hall to the doors of the washroom, looking all around himself before entering.

The room's dim lighting gave it a creepy aura. Simon picked the shower the furthest back, just in case somebody did happen to come in, they may not notice him. He set his things down and turned the knob of the shower to the left until the showerhead shot out steamy, hot water.

He took off his shirt, folding it back up neatly, and began thinking about yesterday and all the things Roger had done. He was still shocked that the other dark haired boy was capable of being affectionate, though, Simon knew what they did wasn't really 'affectionate'. It was merely only a hug because the older boy felt bad for him. That still didn't stop the butterflies that erupted in Simon's stomach. Simon was so lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice the three boys that entered the washroom and slowly started to advance towards him.

Simon's thoughts came to an abrupt halt as his body collided with the washroom wall. He was pinned from behind, his bare chest flat against the cold tiles of the wall. Simon tried to wriggle free out of the person's grasp, but it was no use.

He contemplated trying to ask what the heck was going on and keeping his mouth shut. He noted that there was more than one boy in the room with him, as he heard more than one whispering voices behind him. Both his arms were held painfully behind his back by a firm grip. A face came up beside his, and whispered in a low, hushed voice.

"Aye, _Batty_. Where's your dumb boyfriend, _Roger_ when you need him?" The voice taunted, warm breath tickling Simon's ear.

' _Boyfriend_?' Simon thought, bewildered by the idea of dating Roger, but couldn't help his face heating up.

Simon squirmed under the tight hold of the boy, all while the others behind the two were snickering amongst themselves.

This seemed to encourage the one holding Simon against his will, as he tightened the grip even more, if that was possible. Simon yelped as fingers started digging into his wrists.

"Hey guys, I have an idea. Let's see who can make the boy faint the fastest." One of the boy's voices mocked, making Simon shiver. He did not like where this was going.

Before he knew it, Simon crashed onto the floor. He doubled over as a foot connected, sharply with his ribcage. Pain was shooting through his body, as endless kicks and punches battered Simon's fragile frame.

With a swift kick to his head, Simon's vision blurred and black spots began to emerge, his hearing became muffled, as if he were underwater, and there was a loud ringing in his ears. He noticed the beating had subsided after that and there were loud voices that seemed to be arguing, though Simon couldn't make anything out of it. He wondered if someone had stopped the beating.

' _Little too late for that.'_ Simon thought, but was thankful to be saved, nonetheless.

A muffled thud to Simon's left made him turn, his movements and everything going on around him, seemed to be in slow motion. To his surprise, he saw a boy laying on the ground with someone straddling his torso, strangling him.

' _Maybe he's in the same situation i'm in."_ Simon thought. His vision was slowly starting to get swallowed up by blackness. He was still trying to hold onto his consciousness for as long as he could, trying desperately to stay awake.

After a few minutes, Simon felt himself being lifted off the ground and squirmed just slightly, alarmed by not being able to move or see.

"Shhh. It's okay, Si." A gentle voice, reassured.

' _Roger?'_ Simon thought, astonished by the identity of his rescuer. Had Roger been the one who had saved him from being beaten anymore? Simon found he had trouble focusing and thinking now. His mind started to go dark and the soothing voice that muffled comforting words, was now fading.

Simon's head burrowed in the crook of Roger's neck as the older boy adjusted his hold on the smaller boy. Kicking the door open with his foot, Roger began making his way to his own dorm, carrying the smaller boy's battered body, bridal style.

Propping Simon up against the wall next to his dorm room, supporting his weight with a knee and an arm wrapped around the smaller boy's middle, Roger unlocked the door and turned the knob with his free hand, pushing the door open the rest of the way with his foot. He lifted the other's light body up again, entering his room, closing the door behind him.

He slowly strode to his bed, gently laying the unconscious boy down. He noticed large, dark bruises starting to form on the other's midsection. Roger was furious. How could anybody think it was okay to lay a hand on that innocent boy?

Roger was glad he came when he did, before any more damage was done, but was still upset he couldn't have been there earlier to prevent the whole thing. For some reason, Roger felt protective over the smaller boy. He promised himself that he wouldn't let anybody else hurt Simon ever again.

Roger pulled up a chair next to the bed and sat, patiently waiting for the unconscious boy to wake. He made a mental note to put up some posters or something, noticing how bland and plain his room was.

A few hours had passed and Roger wondered how long he'd been waiting, as he heard faint hollers and yells outside his door from other boys, probably on their way to breakfast. Roger didn't mind skipping a meal or two every now and then, so he chose to stay with Simon till he woke and was feeling better. Roger looked at the smaller boy, resisting the urge to pick him up and hold him in his arms.

Roger had never been one to sleep in. He'd been up since 2:00 this morning, burning off steam. He enjoys getting up early in the morning to run laps around the track field while it's empty and silent. It helps him clear his mind. Roger took out his phone, checking the time. '6:35 a.m.' He was exhausted today and just wanted to sleep.

The older boy soon could not keep his eyes open and ended up falling asleep in the chair, leaning forwards with his head laying on the bed, using his arms as a pillow.

Soon after, Simon started to stir. He slowly peeled his eyes open, wincing as he shifted his position. His body ached and his head throbbed. He took two fingers and rubbed his temple, wanting to ease the throbbing pain that seemed to be circulating through his brain. He could not believe what had happened to him, he'd been physically picked on before in the past, but never so severely.

Simon looked around himself, not recognizing the plain room at all. He caught sight of the sleeping boy at his side and a grin made its way to his face. The older boy didn't look like he very was comfortable, which made Simon feel guilty for have taken over his bed. Simon scooted closer to the sleeping boy, hesitantly putting his hand on the other's back, beginning to lightly trace patterns through the thick sweatshirt Roger had on.

Simon began thinking about what was said to him before he went unconscious. They were taunting him about his condition and they really thought he was dating Roger. They were literally _betting_ on who could make the boy faint first. Who does that?

He was upset that he never seemed to be able to stick up for himself and he always found himself resorting to others to help him, or just dealing with the situation alone, not being able to do anything. Maybe people were right. Maybe he was weak. A few tears had rolled down his cheeks, but he made no effort to remove them, instead he brought his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, burying his head. He let the tears slip freely down his face as he thought about the things that have been said to him in all the years he's been picked on.

' _Maybe they're all right.'_ Simon thought, sniffing louder than he intended.

Roger, being the light sleeper he is, awoke to the sounds the other was making. He glanced at the smaller boy, who was curled up in a small ball, hiding his face in his knees.

Roger momentarily freaked out, unsure how to react in a situation like this. He was never one to be comforting to anyone and had little experience himself, so this was sort of new to him. Roger timidly reached out and touched the others shoulder, making the smaller boy flinch away.

Simon looked up with puffy, bloodshot eyes, his cheeks were tear stained from crying, he didn't mean to flinch away from the others touch. They met each other's gazes. Roger's heart felt like somebody was tearing it apart, seeing the crying, bruise covered boy in front of him.

He stood from his chair and climbed into the bed beside Simon, wrapping his arms securely around the smaller boy, resting his chin on Simon's shoulder. Simon was taken aback by these actions and froze. He sniffed again and started to wipe the wetness off his cheeks with a bare arm.

"Simon?" Roger tried, keeping his voice low and calm. "Are you okay?"

Simon shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't okay, and he obviously didn't look okay, so he couldn't try to lie, not that Roger would believe it anyways. He sighed heavily before he answered.

"N-no. I'm not even close to being okay. So much i-is wrong." Simon choked on a sob, covering his face with his hands, his breathing was shallow and quick. Roger tightened his grip on the boy, wanting desperately to make him feel better.

"What's all wrong?" Roger asked, calmly.

"Everything, basically." Simon scoffed quietly. "People judge me before they even know me, and honestly, it's getting too much for me to handle."

"Trust me, I know how you feel. You just have to learn to ignore what others think." Roger mumbled, holding the boy closer. Simon nodded, starting to calm down a little and relax into the other's arms.

"Roger?" Simon asked after a little while of silence.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you. Again." Simon paused, turning to look at the older boy. "You're being really nice to me."

"You're welcome." Roger smiled at the smaller boy.

"So, does this make us friends?" Simon asked, hesitantly.

"Something like that." Roger chuckled, grinning at the boy in his arms. Simon smiled back.

After a while of on and off talking, Simon had assured that he felt okay enough to leave the safety of Roger's room and go out to his friends. Although Roger hadn't wanted the boy to leave his side, he didn't want to seem too possessive, so he agreed, letting the smaller boy borrow a shirt and head back to his own dorm. Roger was worried sick about him. He felt the need to be with him 24/7, to protect him from anything and everyone. Simon had told him that he'd be fine in his friend's company and that he wouldn't go anywhere alone, which put Roger's mind at ease a little.

What seemed like right after Simon left, Jack had suddenly appeared at Roger's, still open dorm room.

"Knock. Knock." Jack spoke as he entered the room, looking at Roger with a slender brow raised. "And where have you been all morning, Mr. Elwin?" Jack asked, obviously annoyed with the absence of Roger's presence during breakfast.

"Here." Roger announced, simply, as if it were the most obvious answer ever.

"How come you didn't meet up with Maurice, Bill, and me at breakfast today?"

"Because I was dealing with something." Roger responded, not being too in depth in his answers.

"Dealing with what? Your new _boyfriend_ you didn't bother telling me about?" Jack asked, scowling slightly.

" _Boyfriend_?" Roger nearly choked on the word as he said it. His cheeks were beginning to heat up as he stared dumbfoundedly at the redhead.

"You mean, you haven't heard the latest news spreading around the school? You are apparently dating, Simon." Jack started howling with laughter, having to hold his sides when they started getting sore.

"Where did people get the idea that we were dating?" Roger asked, thinking back to all the encounters he and Simon had, had.

"Not really sure, to be honest, but It's hilarious. Damn. I wish people would start thinking me and Ralph were a thing." Jack replied, still getting over his laughing fit. "There has actually been quite a few rumors spread about your 'boyfriend'." He added, giving Roger a pointed look.

"What kind of rumors?" Roger asked.

"Well since everyone practically knows about his fainting spells and whatnot, they decided that he was no longer 'normal' and is now a 'freak, outcast, weirdo, crazy nutjob', etcetera, etcetera. It's pretty low. Even for me. I mean, I'd never go _that_ far. He is just a normal kid with a… disorder." Jack shrugged, putting his hands into his pockets.

There was no word to explain how furious Roger was. He wanted to find whoever started these rumors and beat the living daylights out of them. Jack seemed to sense Roger's anger and tried to lighten the mood.

"Uhm… Well the rumors aren't too bad right now and plus he's with Ralph and the fat boy at the moment, so your little boyfriend's fine. But, uh, I did come down here for a reason. Maurice's aunt had just opened up this great new mexican restaurant and we're going there in about an hour. Care to join?" Jack asked, hoping Roger would accept the offer.

"Er- yeah, sure." Roger muttered, dropping his gaze. Since It seemed like Simon would be alright without him around for a little while, Roger agreed to go. He wanted to get his mind off of this for a while and have some fun.

"Great! Meet us in my room whenever you're ready." Roger nodded and the redhead left, shutting the door behind himself.

Roger sighed and started to get ready, not that he really needed to do much. After he combed through his hair so his bangs swept over his forehead, almost starting to cover an eye, he put on some cologne and decided to just wear what he'd been wearing that morning; a plain black hoodie, with black joggers, and a pair of black kicks. He exited his dorm room and started his way to Jacks.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six:

Upon their arrival to the mexican restaurant, Jack, Roger, and Maurice were all seated in a booth at the back of the room, which basically isolated them from other customers. A waiter finally came to their table, taking their orders, and promising to be back with their food in a little bit. While they waited, Roger and Jack were being torchured with cheesy mexican jokes and puns from Maurice, who found them quite amusing, taking a moment to laugh at how 'brilliant' he was when he told them.

"So, then the taco says to the nacho, 'do you wanna _taco_ bout it?'. Haha, get it? Because he is a taco? Then the nacho says, 'hey, this is _nacho_ business.'." After Maurice took a moment to laugh at that terrible joke, he started to go on with what he was saying. "Then, the jalapeno pepper was like, 'That dude was _jalapeno_ business.'. He was so _all up in your_ business. Do you guys get it? You aren't laughing."

"Oh, trust me, Maurice. We get it. We get that you are a childish idiot. In fact, we have _gotten it_ since we've met you." Jack replied, staring at Maurice with no expression written on his face.

"It's not my fault that you have no sense in humor, so don't blame me." Maurice retorted, crossing his arms.

"Right. _We_ have no sense in humor." Jack replied back, sarcastically.

"Roger, are you alright? You seem to be mad about something." Maurice commented, turning to Roger, ignoring Jack's sarcasm. He suddenly pointed to a taco on the menu and whispered, "Do you want to _taco_ bout it?" He quickly covered his mouth, smothering a laugh. Jack smacked him upside the head.

Roger had been more silent than he usually was, and Jack was worried about him. They were like brothers. Neither liked seeing the other upset or angry, and both had trouble comforting and cheering each other up. So, like Roger, Jack had no idea what to do to make Roger, himself again. Not even Maurice's stupidity had made Roger laugh.

Roger just couldn't take his mind off of Simon and all the rumors spread about him for some reason. He compared himself to a parent, worried about their child. He wanted to make the boy feel better about himself, and confident, and he wanted to make all the rumors disappear into thin air. He felt bad for the smaller boy and he wanted to protect him. He did not want another incident like last night, not even a rude remark to the boy.

"I'm fine." Roger muttered, staring intensely out the restaurant window.

"Leave him be, Maurice." Jack mumbled, nudging the strawberry blonde.

When their food finally arrived, they ate in silence, besides Roger, who barely even touched his food, just playing with it with his fork. Jack and Maurice kept glancing up at him, then at each other and shrugging, though Jack knew what he was worried about, it still confused him. He knew his best friend had a crush, but he didn't get why Roger was so worried and overprotective over the small boy and the rumors that were spread about him. Well, if Ralph was in that situation, he'd of been the same way, so Jack didn't question it.

Jack insisted he pay for the bill, politely thanking Maurice's aunt as he walked out, though he would have never of done so if Maurice hadn't elbowed him as they were passing by. They all hopped into Maurice's black Chevrolet, Sedan, and started to head back to the school.

By the time they had arrived, it was around noon. Maurice and Roger had went off to their own dorms for the time being, leaving Jack alone.

Jack was wandering the halls, searching all the places he thought a particular fair haired boy would be. He was bored and wanted to mess with Ralph a bit, because it amused him and it was an excuse to talk to the boy he was so fond of. He adored Ralph's attitude toward him, and that he always stood his ground, and was actually a little competitive and feisty. He had planned to ask the boy out on a date one of these days, but he had no idea if Ralph was bisexual or not. He had really hoped he was into guys, if he wasn't, Jack would have no shot.

Jack entered the library, scanning the room for Ralph or at least one of his friends. He spotted a surge of blonde hair by the fictional books, with what looked to be one of the twins and Simon. A smirk found its way to Jack's face as he strode over to the fair haired boy. He cleared his throat loudly, receiving all three's attention. Ralph mumbled something incoherently and spoke up, walking closer to the redhead.

"Jack, I think you have the wrong room, this is not the class for the _mentally challenged_." Ralph stated, chuckling and putting his hands on his hips.

"Oh, trust me, I've got the right room. In fact, you're just the person I wanted to see." Jack said, folding his arms over his chest.

"Oh, really? And why in the world would you want to see me?" Ralph scoffed, leaning all his weight on one leg and raising an eyebrow.

"Can't a guy just pay a visit to a friend?" Jack asked, innocently.

"We are not _friends_ , Merridew. So, why are you here?" Ralph was glaring daggers at Jack now.

"Would you believe me if I said I was simply coming to the library, just to _come_ to the library and I had just _happened_ to run into you?" Jack asked, glancing at the two boys behind Ralph, who were staring at the two silently.

" _No_ , I would _not_ believe that. Now tell me, what are you doing here?" Ralph basically demanded an answer. Jack actually hadn't come here to intentionally do something, just to simply talk with the blonde, though Ralph didn't believe him.

"I just wanted to talk." Jack shrugged, looking back to the blonde.

"Well then talk."

"Alone."

"If you think I'm staying in a room with _you_ , _alone_ , you are out of your mind." Ralph retorted, scowling up at the taller redhead.

"C'mon, it's not like I'm going to _murder_ you. Just give me five minutes, that is all I ask." Jack pleaded, hoping the blonde would accept.

" _Five_ minutes." Ralph agreed, stubbornly. He looked behind him to the other two, giving them an apologetic look. "Can you guys step out for five minutes, please?"

The two nodded and quietly shuffled to the exit, leaving Jack and Ralph alone.

"Okay, what did you want to talk about?" Ralph asked, stepping backwards a couple of times, for a reasonable distance between him and Jack.

"I wanted to invite you somewhere." Jack stated, straightening his posture.

"Where is this ' _somewhere_ '?"

"You'll only find out if you agree to go."

"I'm not going anywhere alone with you, especially if I have no idea where we'd be going."

"C'mon, it'll be _fun._ Plus, you can trust me. I will not lay a hand on you the whole time, I swear."

"Can't you take one of your choirboys with you?"

"I _could,_ but I wanted to take _you._ I will literally get on my knees and beg you to go."

"Alright."

Jack was taken aback, thinking the blonde would not take this seriously.

"Excuse me?" Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I'll go if you get on your knees and beg." Ralph replied, folding his arms across his chest, looking expectantly at the redhead.

Jack soon had regretted saying that as he walked over to Ralph, dropping to his knees in front of the blonde, putting his hands together like he was praying. He shook his head and sighed before he raised his hands and 'begged'.

" _Please_ , Ralph I _beg_ you to come with me. If you don't, I'll probably _die_." The redhead exaggerated, shaking his clasped hands in the air dramatically.

"Fine. I'll go." Ralph agreed. "But, you may not touch me or let anyone else touch me."

"Now, I can't control other people, but I guess if you're scared, I'll protect you from creepy people, prissy pants." Jack smirked, knowing that he'd never let anybody even look at the boy.

"Prissy pants? Really?" Ralph asked as Jack stood.

"I think it suits you well." Jack replied, smirk growing.

"Gee, thanks." Ralph said, no enthusiasm or thankfulness in his voice whatsoever.

"Well, my times about up. We will be going to the place tomorrow after school hours. Until then, I'll catch ya later, Prissy Pants." The redhead turned and made his way to the exit, just as the other two were coming back in.

"What was that about?" Sam asked, glancing back to where the redhead had just left.

"Jack asked me to go somewhere with him tomorrow after class. I don't know why, but I agreed, so if after tomorrow, I happen to go missing, you'll know who's responsible." Ralph chuckled.

"You know, he may not be that bad. I mean, you guys said that Roger was scary and sadist-like, but he's actually pretty sweet." Simon piped up, a smile crossing his face as he mentioned Roger's name.

"Did you just say, _Roger_ was _sweet_?" Sam asked, staring at the dark haired boy as if he was crazy.

"Yeah. It's true. He is so nice to me and he even said that we were friends." Simon explained with a grin.

"You're telling me that you, a pure, kind hearted boy, is friends with, Roger, a creepy sadist?" Ralph asked, staring dumbfoundedly at the smaller boy.

"Roger isn't like that at all. He may seem creepy, but once you actually talk to him, he is a cool guy. And I happen to think he is really kind and thoughtful." Simon announced, oblivious of the dreamy look in his expression.

Ralph and Sam looked at each other for a moment before turning to the dark haired boy.

"Simon?" Sam started, unsure how to go about this.

"Do you have a crush on, Roger?" Ralph finished, timidly.

" _Pardon_?" Simon stared at them both, mouth agape, though he heard the question clearly. He'd never thought about the possibility that he had formed a crush on the mysterious boy, but now that he thought about it, the more he realized he did. Simon's reddening face and now stiff posture has apparently answered for him as he saw the grins on both boy's faces.

"You do, don't you?" Ralph asked, smiling widely at the dark haired boy. Simon shifted uncomfortably.

"Is that bad?" Simon asked in a small voice.

"Not at all! I think it's kinda cute, to be honest. Sam, don't you think that Simon and Roger would make a cute couple?" Ralph asked, turning to his grinning companion.

"Yeah, I think they'd be adorable together!" Sam replied, nudging Simon's shoulder.

"You think?" Simon giggled, blush growing.

"Mhmm. Ralph, should we set the two up?" Sam asked, eyeing the blonde.

"Yes, I think that'd be a great idea." Ralph replied, smiling wider.

"No, guys. I don't even know if he's into boys. And if he was, he'd probably not like someone like me." Simon stated, frowning a little.

"What are you talking about? Who wouldn't like you, Si? You're freaking adorable. No homo." Ralph chuckled, giving Simon a pointed look.

"Yeah, you're pretty attractive, Simon, although I am not particularly into dudes. Just telling the truth." Sam commented, smiling reassuringly at Simon.

"Oh, uhm, thanks I think." Simon giggled, running a hand through his dark locks, nervously. "But I don't think a guy like him would be into a guy like me. I think I'm too small and weak."

"Nonsense!" Ralph retorted

"You may be small, yes, but that doesn't make ya weak." Sam stated, attempting to build up the boy's confidence.

Simon smiled at the two, thankful to have friends like the ones he had. Although he didn't necessarily believe them, he was grateful they were at least trying to make him feel good enough and treated him like he was.

A few minutes later, Peter and Eric walked into the library, returning from Eric's locker. Peter had seen the twin's locker and was horrified by the conditions, so he decided to help him clean it. Unlike his brother, Eric was the messy, unorganized one, who hoarded all kinds of things, not bothering to throw away what he didn't need anymore.

"-It really wasn't that bad, Peter." Eric stated, folding his arms over his chest.

"Not that bad? Are you kidding me? It was a nightmare! You had a _spoiled milk carton_ at the bottom of all your books!" Peter retorted, using hand motions to get his point across.

"Oh my gosh. Eric? Really? A spoiled milk carton?" Sam asked, scrunching his nose up in disgust.

"It wasn't that bad, Sam. There was only a _little_ bit of the crusty, unknown substance inside of it, nothing major." Eric smirked, knowing his brother would be super grossed out.

"Ew!" Sam shrieked, cringing along with Simon, Ralph and Piggy.

Eric just laughed and shrugged his shoulders, enjoying the reactions he got. After a little while of filling each other in on what had happened when they were separated, they all decided to go hang out in the twin's dorm, that was twice as big as their own, until dinner.


	7. Chapter 7

**(A.N: Hello! This is just a little note to help clear things up…)**

 **First off, thank you for taking the time to read this fic, I really appreciate the reviews and all the feedback you guys give me. And please tell me if you catch a mistake or spelling error in my writing, I'll gladly revise it.**

 **Please know that I'm still kinda new to writing a longer series and I am not a professional writer by any means. xD I am well aware that this isn't the most original story, as I sarcastically mentioned in the first chapter, but just bare with me, alright?**

 **Though Simon and Roger are in the same grade, Roger is older. I probably should have mentioned this in an earlier chapter, but Roger started primary school pretty late because of bad parenting, causing him to be around a year older than Simon.**

Chapter Seven:

Simon quickened his pace as he made his way to last period, science class. His day was going by unusually fast for some reason. He walked into the classroom and quickly made his way to his seat in the back of the room.

He sat down, taking out his science book and over the weekend homework that was due today. His mind wandered to the topic of Ralph, who he was slightly worried about, having agreed to go somewhere completely unknown with Merridew. Though Simon liked to think that the redhead was like Roger, and would be really nice and caring towards Ralph, and not try anything on him. His thinking halted as he heard the sound of books slamming on the desk beside him.

He turned to see Roger looking at him with the corners of his mouth, slightly bent upwards. Simon smiled warmly at the other boy, then turned to his book, opening it up to the page written on the board in the front of the room. He did not want Roger to know about the crush he had formed on him, so Simon decided to avoid doing anything that would make the older boy think he did, like staring. Simon focused his undivided attention on the teacher, who was explaining the lesson to the class.

"How are you?" Roger's voice whispered next to Simon's ear, startling the other just slightly. Simon turned to face the other dark haired boy.

"I'm fine. How are you?" He whispered back, softly.

"I'm alright." Roger shrugged. Simon nodded and tried to think of something else to say to keep this conversation going.

"Hey, uhm, do you know where, Jack is taking, Ralph tonight?" Simon had been wondering about this all day. He thought that maybe since Roger was Jack's best friend, he'd know where the redheaded boy was taking his friend.

"Nah, but don't worry, your friend will be fine. If anything, Merridew would be the one to protect him, not the other way around." Roger replied, chuckling slightly.

"You think?" Simon asked, raising a questioning brow.

"Mhm. It's pretty obvious the redhead has a thing for the blonde." Roger commented. To him, it was like Jack had the words 'Merridew's property' branded onto the blondes forehead, though others didn't really see it because nobody could read Jack like Roger could.

"I've never really thought about it." Simon chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, which he found himself doing quite often, recently. Jack and Ralph were basically rivals, so to think of those two ever dating was beyond strange.

"Jack's trying to get closer to the blonde, he wants to know if, Ralph's into guys. If he is, I'm sure, Jack would waste no time in asking him out." Roger shrugged once more and flicked his bangs out of his eyes, fixing his gaze to the front of the room.

"Oh. I never interpreted, Jack as that type of guy." Simon remarked quietly.

"Well he doesn't give off that vibe very often." He paused, "Do you know if, Ralph's into boys or not?" Roger asked, glancing at the shorter boy beside him.

"We've never really talked about it much, but I think he may be bisexual. I'm not completely sure though." Simon replied, frowning slightly. He was sure Ralph was not fully gay because he does talk about girls sometimes, but he wasn't completely sure he was fully straight either, as he has talked about boys on one occasion, but Simon didn't really question it then.

"I hope he is. I want, Jack to be happy." Roger mumbled, more to himself than to the boy beside him.

"He isn't happy?" Simon asked, trying to think of a time where Jack was in a bad mood.

"Well, I think he's happy, but he'd be even _more_ happy if he got to date, the 'golden boy' he is so into. I like to see him in a good mood." Roger shrugged lazily.

"Thats sweet." Simon smiled at the taller boy who started to flush just slightly.

"I guess…" Roger trailed off, running a hand through his dark hair, grinning sheepishly. He's rarely been called 'sweet' before, so it sounded pretty foreign to him when Simon had said that, but he really didn't mind. He actually liked when the other said stuff like that and he got a weird feeling in his stomach. It wasn't a bad feeling though, it was just new.

The two continued to chat quietly while the lesson went on. Before they knew it, the bell had rung, signalling the end of school hours. Simon closed his book and grabbed his belongings, quickly making his way to the door, attempting to catch Ralph before he and Jack left to who knows where. He promised Roger that he'd meet up with him after Jack and Ralph had left, to hang out for a bit, which he was pretty excited about, to be honest.

Roger, on the other hand was on his way to Jack's dorm. He wanted to see the redhead before he went to wherever he was going, which he planned to find out later. He reached Jack's dorm and knocked on the door loudly, then shoved his hands into his pockets.

Not a second later, Jack opened up with a large, cocky smirk planted on his face, but it soon disappeared, as he was expecting Ralph to show up, not Roger.

"What're you doing here?" Jack asked, slightly disappointed the blonde hadn't been the one to show up.

"I just came by to see how things would play out." Roger admitted, smirking up at the, slightly taller redhead.

"Of course you would." Jack rolled his eyes and playfully shoved the dark haired boy.

"You never did tell me how you got him to agree." Roger stated giving the redhead a pointed look, raising an eyebrow.

Jack did not want to tell Roger that he got on his knees and begged the boy, though he didn't consider it 'begging', he was just joking around, not being serious. But Roger wouldn't care, he'd end up dying of laughter right then and there. Jack's ego was too big to let this slip out, so he decided not to tell his best friend.

"What can I say? I have a way with words." Jack lied, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning all his weight on one leg.

" _Right_." Roger stated, sarcastically, rolling his eyes. He admitted the redhead did have a way with words when it came to manipulating people or bribing them, but Roger knew Ralph was smarter than that, so he wasn't buying Jack's lie.

"What? It's true." Jack smirked, shrugging his shoulders lazily.

While those two kept chatting away, waiting for the blonde to arrive, Simon had managed to catch up with Ralph before the blonde went to his own dorm to change into something more comfortable. Ralph quickly dismissed himself to go change and Simon was currently waiting patiently outside the dorm. The door opened and Simon was greeted with an anxious, nervous looking Ralph, wearing a plaid, button up shirt and jeans.

"You look nice." Simon complimented with a smile, wanting to calm the blonde.

"Thanks. I cannot believe I agreed to go somewhere with that _devil_." Ralph sighed, shaking his head, stepping out of his room and closing the door behind himself. Honestly, he regretted even letting the redhead talk with him.

"Don't worry, you'll be fine, I promise." Simon said, putting a reassuring hand on the blondes shoulder.

"And how do you know?" Ralph asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I just think you'll be alright, that's all." Simon replied with a shrug.

The two were quiet as they made their way to Merridews, only occasionally slipping glances at each other. From the distance, Ralph made out the forms of Jack and Roger, standing at the door of Merridew's dorm room. He purposely slowed his pace, regretting ever agreeing to go to wherever the redhead had planned. He seriously just wanted to see Jack on his knees and begging, that's the only logical reason why Ralph would agree to anything like this. Though the begging wasn't too convincing, Ralph knew that was as good as he was going to get with Jack and that big, fat ego of his.

The closer Ralph got to the redhead, the more nervous he got. They were about five meters apart now and even from there, the blonde could easily make out the sly smirk that crossed Jack's face as he caught sight of Ralph. The blonde straightened his posture, squaring up his shoulders and walking with his head high, giving the illusion that he was confident as he strode over to the two.

"Hey, Ralphie. You ready to go?" Jack asked, his smirk growing even more as the blonde now stood a few feet away from him.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Ralph murmured, flicking the bangs out of his eyes.

"Great." The redhead smiled, glancing at the two others. "We'll be back later." Jack said, smiling cooly. He was actually surprised the blonde had shown up.

Simon gave an apologetic look to the blonde, before sending him one last reassuring smile, to which Ralph forced a small, weak smile back. Jack and Ralph parted ways and made their way down the hall to the main office to sign out, leaving Roger and Simon alone. They stood there awkwardly for a couple minutes before Simon piped up.

"Want to go to the auditorium?" The smaller boy asked, timidly, staring down the hallway to where Ralph had just left. Since he still had homework he had to get done and had planned to hang out with Roger, he thought maybe they could do it at the same time in there.

Roger nodded in response. He didn't care where the two went, as long as he got to spend time with the other boy. They made their way to the auditorium in silence, both still wore their uncomfortable school uniforms, not bothering to stop and change. They picked a table in the back and sat on opposite sides, wanting to have some room to themselves to work on stuff for school. They chit-chatted quietly amongst themselves as they started working, using this time as a study haul, though Roger wasn't all crazy about it.

Meanwhile, Ralph was trying not to laugh at Jack's bad driving and constant cursing when the light seemed to turn red right as they were about to pass, causing him to slam on the breaks. The blonde had a death grip on the handle above his seat as Jack started speeding up, passing a car that was driving 'too slow' for his liking. Ralph seriously thought Jack's careless driving would be the death of him.

About ten minutes later, Jack pulled into a parking lot that seemed to be swarmed with cars. It took them at least five minutes to find a parking space that was convenient and not too far away from the place Jack had refused to park by. Ralph unbuckled his seatbelt, opening the passenger door, and stepped out, smoothing down his shirt as he did so. Jack too got out and motioned for Ralph to follow him, to which he obliged.

They walked past fast food restaurants, small business buildings, and a grocery store, until they stopped at a particularly large building that made the blonde have to look twice to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

" _Chuck E Cheese's_? You cannot be serious right now." Ralph stated in disbelief, shaking his head, staring at the smirking redhead.

"Oh, I'm _serious_ , prissy pants." Jack's smirk seemed to only grow wider as he crossed his arms, enjoying the blondes reaction.

"You do know this place is for _six_ year olds, correct?" Ralph asked, furrowing his brow, gesturing to the building in front of him.

"Oh, I'm well aware of that, _Ralphie_." Jack paused, "C'mon just give it a chance, it'll be fun. Doesn't matter if it's meant to be for seven year olds or not." Jack stated, nudging the blonde, wanting him to lighten up.

Ralph thought for a moment. He didn't have anything else planned for the evening, so this was better than just sitting in his dorm room doing homework all night. Besides, he always kept his word, it was a thing he was known for, he couldn't just back out.

"This better be as fun as you make it sound." Ralph muttered, pushing aside the redhead to enter the building. Jack grinned widely as he followed the blonde into the kid festooned building.

…

Simon was about sick of trying to figure out the near- impossible geology problems on his homework. He irritably tapped his pencil on the table as he held his head with his other hand, continuing to stare intently at the problems that seemed to be mocking him. Geology was never his strong suit. With a small sigh, he gave up and decided to take a break.

He quietly got up out of his chair and went to sit beside Roger to see what he was up to. Simon almost fell out of his chair when he saw the drawing Roger had been working on. He stared at it in awe, this was way beyond his drawing skills, he had no idea Roger was even into drawing and was so good at it.

Simon took a closer look at the drawing; The right side, half of a face, a hand ripping the flesh from the bone, no eye in it's socket, only blackness. The other half was a skull that seemed to be starting to shatter into pieces in the left corner. Though the art was a little dark and creepy, which wasn't really his thing, Simon loved it. The amount of detail in the piece was astounding.

"This is amazing." Simon said in awe, looking up at the other boy.

"Really, you think so?" Roger asked, glancing up from his drawing, meeting the others excited eyes. Roger didn't think the smaller boy was into things like this, he seemed to be one who likes bright, colorful, happy drawings.

"Yes! This is really impressive, Roger. I had no idea you were into art." Simon replied enthusiastically, smiling at the other.

"Thanks. I'm glad you like it. I enjoy drawing. It's a hobby that I don't get to endorse often." Roger shrugged, setting his pencil down. It was true, he rarely ever drew anymore, but when he did, he relished it and put a lot of effort into the work.

"Well I think you should draw more often. You're really good! I like drawing too, but I'm not _near_ as talented as you are." Simon replied, smile widening. Roger didn't like being complimented, he never knew how to react and he always made the situation awkward. It's not that he didn't appreciate the things said to him, he just had nothing to say back. He wasn't used to nice things being said about him, therefore, he didn't know how to respond.

"I'm sure you're really good too." Roger smiled down at the smaller boy who just giggled and shrugged in response. Roger enjoyed these types of conversations he had with Simon. He liked when he found out more things about the other, he wanted to know more. It interested him for some reason. Roger picked his pencil back up and continued working on the drawing, while Simon watched over his shoulder.

…

"Jack, move your fatass!"

Ralph pushed the redhead full force, in hopes that he could try and get unstuck from the tube slide they were currently stuck in. They've been like this for ten minutes, pushing and shoving each other, occasionally letting out a string of curses, trying to get out. It was all Jack's fault. If he hadn't suggested that they should go crawl around in the Skytubes, they wouldn't be here. Ralph should have known that they were too big for the small tubes anyways, and now he was paying the price for not using his common sense. (A.N. If you have no idea what a 'Skytube' is, look it up xD The old Chuck E Cheese's I grew up with had these and they were pretty fun… until I got lost inside one once… Anyways, let's get on with the fic..)

"I can't move. Like at all." Jack replied, slightly aggravated, squirming around in the tight tube. He wasn't sure what the problem was, last time he was here, Maurice and him were able to get through the tubes easily. He tried again to wriggle out of the tube, using Ralph's body to push himself.

"Get your feet off of me!" The blonde yelled, pushing Jack's feet away from him as if they were going to kill him. To be honest, Ralph was more worried about his shirt getting dirty from Merridew's feet, than actually getting out of the tube. Jack let out a growl of frustration, craining his neck to look at the blonde, leaning back, uncomfortably on his elbows.

"Oh, I'm so sorry _prissy pants_ , am I getting your clothes all dirty?" Jack asked, mockingly, smirking slightly mischievously at the other. The redheaded boy continued to use his feet to push off of the blonde who was still mildly complaining, until he got loose enough to slide down the slide. He landed on his back on the rough, rubber mat at the bottom of the slide. Soon enough the smaller blonde came down too, landing on top of Jack, face to face.

"Hey, how are you doing?" The redhead smirked, winking at the blonde. Ralph scoffed as he rolled off of the other, getting to his feet, dusting himself off. Jack too got up, stretching out his arms and legs, cracking his back in the process. "Well that was fun." Jack commented, sarcastically, walking over to the bin where their shoes were being held, grabbing his black kicks, slipping them on lazily, not wanting to bend down and retie them.

"I honestly think I'm claustrophobic now, thanks." The blonde replied, sardonically, as he grabbed his shoes and slipped them on. Ralph looked around the building, catching a few pairs of eyes watching him uneasily and questionally. He slightly shook his head irritably, turning to face the redhead. "You sure do know how to attract unwanted attention, Merridew." Ralph muttered, not liking the fact that eyes were staring at him.

"Well it isn't everyday that you see a couple of teenagers playing around in a place that's meant for little kids." The redhead retorted, letting out a loud laugh. Jack walked out of the arcade part of the building, over to the dining area, where a stage full of creepy animatronics were 'making music'. Jack'd always hated those mechanical freakshows. He stood there for a minute, just watching the robots from afar, turning only slightly when he heard the footsteps of Ralph approaching.

"Those things are _terrifying_." The blonde commented, emphasizing the word 'terrifying', also watching the animatronics as he approached. Jack nodded in agreement, not taking his eyes away from the scene in front of him. An idea had made it's way into Jack's mind, though it wasn't the smartest idea, they'd both still get a good laugh from it.

"You think I'm a good enough singer to join their little band?" The redhead joked, smirking down, deviously at the blonde who just eyed him suspiciously.

"Please don't tell me you're about to do what I think you're about to do." Jack's smirk only widened as he started to make his way to the stage, ignoring Ralph's doubtful stare. "Jack, no." The redhead ignored the blonde as he hoisted himself up onto the stage, walking over to the animatronic with the microphone.

" _Oh my God_ …" Ralph whispered to himself as he saw the redheaded boy climb onto the stage. He covered his mouth to smother the laugh as he saw Jack trying to pry the microphone from the robot's hands to no avail. He could not believe Jack would do something like this and make a fool out of himself, just for a laugh. Ralph turned away, covering his whole face with his hands, acting like he didn't know the redhead that was currently on stage singing along with the animatronics.

Only when he heard a yell and a loud thumping sound did Ralph turn around. To his surprise, he saw Jack running towards him with a very large man following closely behind with an angry look across his face. The redhead grabbed Ralph's arm, dragging the blonde with him as he sprinted towards the exit, pushing past people and stumbling over one another. The two of them made it out the doors and continued to run until they were out of view. Both of them immediately burst out laughing, holding their sides as they became sore.

"What were you thinking?" Ralph managed to get out through his laughing fit, putting both hands on his mouth to try and stifle the laughter. He looked around the corner of the building they were hiding behind to see the same man guarding the door, still looking quite pissed, even from this far away.

"My options were to either face the consequences or bail… So I bailed." The redhead stated with a shrug after he had managed to calm down a bit, leaning against the wall, still holding his sides.

"You're an idiot." The blonde chuckled, lightly punching Jack in the shoulder. Jack smiled triumphantly as he noticed Ralph was actually enjoying himself. The two started walking down the street, chatting quietly amongst each other, until they came across a small, Chinese restaurant.

"You in the mood for Chinese?" Jack asked, raising a slender brow. Ralph nodded. They both entered the small restaurant and made their way to the counter where a short, older Chinese woman stood with a welcoming smile. Ralph noticed that there were no other customers in this place, and that made it look pretty deserted. The lady greeted them politely and took the two to a table where they were seated and got their orders taken. When their food finally arrived, Jack cleared his throat loudly, about to thank the woman.

"Gracias, seniorita." The redhead thanked with a cheery smile. Ralph had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. The lady gave a confused smile, but said nothing and walked away. When the woman had made it to the counter, Ralph burst out laughing, wiping the corners of his eyes where tears had formed. Jack gave a confused look to the blonde as he unwrapped his chopsticks.

"What's so funny?" Jack asked, giving the blonde a sideways glance, chuckling only slightly because Ralph was laughing so hard. Ralph shook his head, continuing to laugh, only talking when he had calmed down some.

"You know you thanked her in Spanish, right? Not Chinese." Ralph began laughing again, sliding down in his chair, holding his stomach. Jack momentarily froze. He couldn't believe he thanked that woman in Spanish, how dumb could he be?

"I think I've been hanging out with, Maurice too much…" The redhead muttered before popping a piece of food into his mouth. The two continued talking and joking around while they ate, which was actually pretty nice. After they ate, Jack insisted he'd pay for the meal, not listening to Ralph arguing that he should at least help pay. The redheaded boy handed the Chinese lady money, and the two exited the restaurant and began making their way to Jack's car, which was parked a few parking lots down from the one they were currently in.

It had gotten a lot darker since they had first arrived; the sun had nearly set and there were less people and cars out and about. Both boys made their way to the car and got in. Jack pulled out of the parking lot and started on their way back to school. The drive back was silent, apart from the little tune the redhead was humming to himself. He looked over to the passenger side to see Ralph with his head up against the window of the car, sleeping soundly. Jack smiled to himself and continued to drive.

When they got to the school, Jack parked his car and contemplated on whether he should wake the blonde up or carry him back to his dorm. Since he didn't have Ralph's dorm key, he couldn't exactly get him to his dorm and set him into bed, so he decided just to wake him up.

"Ralph, we're here." The redhead whispered softly, gently nudging the blonde's shoulder. Ralph looked up with tired, but alerted eyes, though they eased some when he saw Jack sitting beside him. He nodded, fidgeting tiredly with his seatbelt until he finally got it undone then opened the door and got out. The two made their way into the building to the office to sign in. Jack had decided to walk the blonde to his dorm, cautiously putting his hand on the small of Ralph's back, guiding him, though it should be Ralph guiding him, Jack already knew where the blondes dorm was.

When the two got to Ralph's dorm, the blonde turned around and ran a hand through his hair, looking up at the taller redhead.

"Hey, uhm, thanks. I had fun today." Ralph started, not really knowing what to say. He still didn't know why the redhead wanted him to come in the first place, maybe because he wanted to be friends with him? He honestly didn't know, but he would save that question for another time.

"It was no problem. I'm glad you had a good time. Maybe we can do this again sometime." Jack smiled down at the blonde appreciatively, resisting the urge to bend down and kiss him. Ralph nodded and grinned, turning to his dorm room, pulling out his key and putting it through the keyhole. He pushed on the door and it opened with a small creak. Before Ralph stepped inside, he turned around and bid Jack goodnight, smiling sweetly at the other.

When the redhead left, Ralph shut the door, leaning his back up against it, replaying the events that had just happened that evening in his head. He actually had a good time. He smiled to himself as he remembered all the idiotic moments Merridew had and how he was himself and he embraced it. He shook his head, still smiling, changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed.


	8. Chapter 8

**(A.N. Hey! This is just a fair warning that I kinda jumped around with the POV's and the times of the day in this chapter and for that, I apologize. Anyways, enjoy the next chapter!)**

 **Warning: This chapter is a little darker and does go into brief detail of a character self harming**

 **Chapter Eight:**

"Woah, woah, woah. _What_? You're telling me that _you_ actually had _fun_ with _Merridew_?"

Peter looked at the blonde like he was insane, mouth agape and eyes wide. He had never expected to hear Ralph say he actually enjoyed spending time with Jack Merridew in a thousand years. He couldn't bare to think about his best friend starting to spend time with the one he hated and despised. Yes, hate is a strong word, but Peter meant it. He _hated_ the redhead and he was not comfortable with his friend, the one he trusted and admired, hanging out with that devil, Jack Merridew. Jack was a manipulative arsehole, an egotistical jerk, and Peter loathed him.

Ralph shrugged lazily and shoved a spoonful of scrambled eggs into his mouth. He knew why Peter was so shocked, he and Jack had detested each other not that long ago and now they were starting to get along. _Starting_ to. The two were still not friends yet, well, at least Ralph didn't think so. The blonde wouldn't betray his friend for Jack though, he knew the redhead had bullied Peter to no end over the past two years and befriending him would definitely make Peter turn against him and lose his trust; Ralph didn't want that to happen.

"Well, he _did_ almost get us in trouble, but that was pretty exhilarating to be honest… Yes, I had a fun time, but that doesn't mean I'm friends with Merridew, because I'm not." Ralph replied firmly, causing relief to wash over the bespeckled boy's face.

Simon smiled to himself, he was right; Jack did end up being similar to what Roger had been to him. Maybe not so much caring or sweet, but he still tried to keep a smile on the blondes face, and he succeeded in giving Ralph a good time. Simon had planned to keep his mouth shut and not intrude on the current conversation, but his curiosity got the best of him.

"Where'd you guys end up going?"

Ralph's cheeks flushed just a little at the question. How was he supposed to tell his friends that Jack had taken him to a place _meant for kids_? He'd definitely get made fun of if he told them, but he found himself not really caring for some odd reason. He set down his fork and shifted in his seat before he spoke.

" _Uhm_ , Chuck E Cheese's." Ralph replied uneasily with a cocky smile etched onto his face. Sam and Eric giggled lightly amongst each other, putting a hand over their mouths to try and cover the growing smiles making their way onto their faces. Peter snorted loudly into the cup he was drinking from, almost spitting the liquid out onto the table. Simon bit his lip to keep from grinning or letting out a stray laugh as he leaned back into his chair.

"You mean the place where parents take their kids for their birthdays?.." Sam asked, still giggling madly with his twin.

"We went there too, Ralph… like seven _years_ ago." Eric teased, sharing a giggle with his brother. Peter was unable to stop the loud laugh that burst from his lips this time, causing water to erupt from his mouth and onto the table, soaking Eric's breakfast and his own library book.

" _Awww_ , I wasn't finished yet, Piggy!" Eric whined childishly, looking down disappointingly at his now contaminated tray of food, causing more laughter to bubble up out of the other four.

The bell signalling the end of breakfast rung a few minutes later, students began to file out of the cafeteria in a dreadful manner, making their way to first period.

…

 **(A.N. So I kinda skipped to after school hours because honestly I think if I went in depth through the whole school day, you'd die of boredom, so consider this a favor :3)**

Ralph and Simon tried to contain their laughter when they heard a certain redheaded boy talking to a teacher from around the corner, he went on and on about how well behaved and talented his choir was, he definitely sounded like a choir nerd to the two others who were eavesdropping. It was entertaining and interesting to hear somebody who's as rebellious and carefree as Jack, take such pride and seriousness in something like choir. Ralph had never actually taken Jack as a choirboy/nerd type of guy, he seemed more like a jock/tyrant of the school if anything. But it seemed like the redhead had a whole load of different personality types people labeled him as, he guessed it depended on who you asked.

The talking soon subsided and the two heard shuffling feet coming toward them. They quickly started walking as casually as possible in the opposite direction, still giggling quietly amongst each other, both not really wanting to be caught eavesdropping by Jack.

Immediately after the redhead turned the corner, he caught sight of the back of a familiar blondes head. He contemplated whether he should try and get the blondes attention or not, but quickly decided he didn't care if he embarrassed him or not.

"Oi, prissy pants!" Jacked yelled from across the hall, a smirk finding its way to his face. Ralph stopped dead in his tracks when he heard that dumb nickname Jack had given him. He and Simon turned to see the redhead making his way over to them, still dressed up in his choir uniform.

"How many times have I told you, I'm _not_ prissy pants." Ralph scowled up at the taller boy who was smirking like a madman.

"Says Mr. _I'd-rather-suffocate-in-tube-slide-than-get-my-shirt dirty_." The redhead teased, chuckling to himself, crossing his arms over his chest.

"In my defense, that was a nice shirt and I didn't want _your_ disgusting feet dirtying it up." Ralph retorted, scrunching his nose up in disgust, something Jack actually found pretty cute, though he would never admit it.

"Like I said. _Prissy pants_." The redhead replied smugly, proving his point. The blonde rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Well at least _I_ don't dress like a _pope_." Ralph commented, causing a small giggle to bubble up out of his friend beside him. He looked the redhead up and down; he seriously did resemble something like a pope with the robe and the large cross that was pinned to the left breast.

" _A pope_? Are you kidding? How do I dress like a pope?" Jack asked almost unbelievingly, raising a slender brow.

"Well, you both wear robe type things-"

" _Togs_. These 'robe things' are called _togs_." Jack cut off, correcting the blonde. His smirk seemed to only get bigger when Ralph let out an irritated sigh. There was nothing he loved more than getting under the blondes skin, his reactions were always so entertaining. "And anyways, you must be blind if you think I look like a pope.. They wear _much_ more different clothes than this."

"Whatever." Ralph muttered, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He felt a little embarrassed for some reason, his cheeks were getting all hot and he had unusually nothing to say back to the redhead.

"Anyways, I'd love to stay and chat with you two, but it's getting late and I have homework to do." Jack stated, straightening his posture. He actually did want to stay and talk with the blonde, he honestly could care less about Simon. Yeah, it was his best friends crush and all and he did respect that, he just wasn't interested in talking the small, dark haired boy; not that he'd talk back or anything, the boy was very quiet and reserved, much like Roger now that he thought about it.

"Since when did you care about doing your homework?" The blonde asked in disbelief, quirking an eyebrow.

"Since _always_. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to my dorm." Jack paused before he passed the two. "I'll see you around, golden boy." The redheaded boy stepped aside and started on his way back to his dorm room, leaving the other two standing there, watching him go. Ralph felt his cheeks start to heat up again at what Jack had referred to him as. He honestly didn't think of himself as a 'golden boy', yeah, he was quite popular, though he only really stuck with the friends that he trusted, he was still very much admired by the majority of the student body and even some teachers. He also knew that some people found him pretty attractive. When he went out a lot of the time, girls would not keep their eyes off of him; it kind of flattered him, but also creeped him out, just a tad.

"Ralph, are you okay?" Simon asked, giggling at the faint blush on the other's cheeks.

The blonde broke from his thoughts when he heard his friend's voice beside him, he looked over to see Simon with his arms crossed and a small smirk written on his face. Ralph scoffed, smiling sheepishly at the slightly shorter boy's interpretation on what had just happened.

"Come on, let's get back to our own dorms, it is getting pretty late and I have a project I have to finish up anyways." Ralph said quickly, changing the subject. He started leading the way to the staircase, purposely trying to avoid talking to the dark haired boy because he was afraid of him bringing up Jack in the conversation.

Simon nodded, he agreed, it was pretty late, though he didn't mind the lateness because he got all of his homework done earlier that day. He silently followed Ralph up the stairs and to the blonde boy's dorm. They said their goodbyes and Simon started walking to his own dorm, but hesitated slightly when he came across a certain dark haired boy's dorm room…

...

Roger slowly brought the razor blade down, dragging it horizontally across the delicate skin on his forearm. Almost instantly dark red liquid began to seep through the wound, he watched with interest as the blood began to run down his arm. Numbness. He'd done this so many times, he had gotten used to the stinging sensation and the pain that came with every scar. He felt numb.

He didn't know why he still did this. Maybe it was to remind himself of his past, remind himself that he was still worthless. Maybe it was because he enjoyed causing harm to himself. Or maybe he had just gotten so used to doing it, it became sort of a habit. He ran the blade over a healing scar, causing it to open back up again. Roger followed the running streaks of red with his eyes, watching as the blood from the two fresh cuts conjoined together, creating a single line of blood that ran down his arm. He tilted his arm slightly so the trail of blood changed in direction; he was always careful not to get it on clothing or bed sheets.

As Roger ran the blade over another healing scar, a sudden knock on the door caught him off guard, making the blade run deeper into the skin, forming a deep gash in his arm. Roger winced slightly. He pulled his sleeve down, ignoring fact that the blood would probably stain and seep through the shirt as he made his way over to the door, opening it just a little to see who it was. Roger was surprised to see Simon standing there with a cheery smile on his face.

"Hey! I just stopped by to see if you wanted to hang out for a little bit..." The smaller boy trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck, dropping his eyes to the floor. "But if you don't want to-"

"I'd love to." Roger cut off, a smile working its way onto his face. He didn't know why he said that so suddenly, he didn't really think about Simon seeing the damage he'd done to himself. He mentally cursed himself; he didn't want the smaller boy to know about this. He opened the door wider, stepping aside so Simon could come in, keeping his injury inflicted arm behind his back. After the smaller boy walked into into the room, he shut the door behind him. Simon sat on the bed, Roger following his suit, sitting far enough away so there was a considerable amount of space between the two.

"Shouldn't you be hanging out with your other friends?" Roger questioned. He genuinely wanted to know why Simon had wanted to hang out with him instead of his other friends, not that he minded the smaller boy's company. It was nice and he enjoyed it.

"Well, I actually just got done hanging out with Ralph, the others are busy at the moment." Simon chuckled, looking down at his fumbling hands. "But I wanted to spend some time with you too." He smiled, but that smile quickly vanished as he caught sight of a bloodied razor blade on the floor. He looked up at the older boy and noticed that he had an arm behind his back. "Your arm…" Simon met Roger's gaze, his dark eyes looked alarmed. Simon moved so he was on his knees in front of the older boy.

"Let me see." Simon's demand was gentle and soothing yet at the same time firm and explicit, something that confused Roger to no end. The older boy shrunk away, not wanting to show his scars to someone so innocent. They still locked gazes, Simon's bright, vibrant green eyes seemed to be pleading his own, _begging_ even. Roger took his arm from behind his back and raised it out hesitantly to the smaller boy, looking away in shame.

Simon carefully rolled up the slightly damp sleeve, revealing an arm full of fresh cuts and healing scars, blood was smeared all over, staining the skin in red. Simon gasped. There were so many scars, too many to count. He looked back up to Roger, still holding his arm gently, careful not to touch any fresh cuts. Roger kept his gaze to the floor, too mortified to look up.

" _Why_?.." Simon asked in a small voice, his eyes began to water. It broke his heart to see this; his friend hurting himself. He wondered what his motive was, what drove him to be so destructive towards himself. Simon wanted to stop this and heal the boy, he wanted to help him.

Roger was silent, his eyes didn't move from the floor. He honestly didn't want to answer that question, there were many dubious, uncertain reasons as to why, but Roger still wasn't sure which ones were certain. Maybe they all were accurate, he didn't know.

When Simon realized he wasn't going to get an answer to the question he asked, he set Roger's arm down carefully and crawled over beside the other. He gently wrapped his arms around the other's middle, leaning his head on their shoulder. Simon was determined to find out why and he'd wait there all night in order to do so. He's heard of people cutting themselves before, but has never understood why they would do such a thing. It hurt him to know that Roger's been doing this to himself and he wanted to stop it.

Roger stiffened when he felt Simon's arms wrap around him, but he immediately relaxed into the others touch. He knew he would have to give him an explanation sooner or later, though he didn't want to. What surprised him the most is Simon didn't end up leaving when he found out about the cutting, he stayed and was even trying to comfort him, something he wasn't used to receiving.

They stayed like this for some minutes, both enjoying the silence and peacefulness. Simon decided to try and ask Roger again why he did this, but he didn't want to sound too pushy and demanding, he just wanted to know the reason he's hurting himself. He wanted to get behind the reason and put an end to it. Simon raised one of his hands to Roger's cheek, gently turning his face towards him. Their eyes met, they were silent for a minute until Simon finally spoke up.

"Why have you been hurting yourself?.."

"I..." Roger looked down towards his wounded arm and thought for a moment before answering. "I don't know… I guess it's become a habit that I've grown accustomed to doing…" Roger replied quietly, unsure of his answer. He knew more questions would follow so he continued to explain. "I used to cut a lot before I was put into this boarding school. I became used to doing it so much, it became an addiction type of thing." Simon frowned. He hated knowing that Roger has been doing this so much, for so long. He wondered if Jack knew about this or any of his other friends.

"Why did you cut a lot before?.." Simon asked timidly, never taking his eyes off of Roger's. He knew he was probably going too far with the questions, stepping into treacherous waters, but he didn't care. Roger had a blank face, but his eyes were swimming in emotions. He'd always been good at hiding his feelings, but it was hard with subjects like this.

"I came from a… _bad_ family. I had a bad past." The response was short, but it held a lot of meaning behind it. Simon nodded understandingly, he wouldn't push the subject any further. He wondered how bad Roger's family had been, what they did to him. He wondered what had happened in his past that drove him to selfharm. As if Roger had read the smaller boy's thoughts, he went on.

"For as long as I can remember, my parents had always thought of me as a burden, some sort of _curse_ that happened to just appear out of nowhere. They always told me how much they regretted ever having me and how much of a mistake I was. When I was about nine, the two of them started punishing me for things that were so _silly_ and _ridiculous_ , like not cleaning my plate off well enough, and sometimes they'd do it for absolutely no reason at all. I was young and confused; I thought parents were supposed to love you, not…" Roger trailed off, he kept his eyes to the bed beneath him, his voice was softer and lower when he was speaking about this. He went on after a few seconds. "Anyways, the punishments worsened as I got older, going from simply locking me in my room with no dinner for the night, to actually physically beating and abusing me. They made me feel so… worthless and pathetic. I started believing what they said, I blamed myself for being such a disappointment to them. I began cutting to cope with the emotional pain I was feeling; I wanted to hurt myself because I thought I deserved it..."

Simon was speechless, he felt terrible, sympathetic, and heartbroken all at the same time. How could somebody's parents do that to them? Especially at such a young age.. He didn't want Roger to feel this way, his parents were wrong; he was not a burden, curse, or mistake, and he wasn't worthless or pathetic. Simon thought the older boy was the total opposite of all those things, actually.

Roger still held an expressionless face, he had his head tilted down slightly with his dark hair covering his eyes. Though Simon didn't ask any further questions about what had happened to him in his family, Roger felt the need to tell him for some reason. He trusted the smaller boy and felt comfortable telling him all these things that he's never really told anyone else, besides Jack. But it was different with Simon. Roger felt as if he could tell the boy anything and he'd never be judged or feel guilty or ashamed about it, but he _did_ feel ashamed for cutting himself. It never bothered him before, but when Simon found out, he felt immediately guilty for some reason. Roger felt a pair of arms wrap tightly around him, a head rested lightly on his chest. He was hesitant at first, but soon wrapped his arms around the smaller boy, appreciating how caring he was towards him.

"Don't ever think of yourself like that. You're one of the most amazing people I know, you're not worthless, pathetic, or a mistake. You don't deserve to be hurting yourself like this… You know you're safe here, right? They can't hurt you anymore- I won't let them hurt you ever again." Simon mumbled softly against the other's chest, hugging Roger tightly.

Roger smiled lightly, tightening his hold on the smaller boy. He was beyond grateful to have somebody like Simon as a friend, Roger thought he didn't deserve to have the smaller boy in his life; Simon seemed too good and pure for him. He thought for a moment about the things Simon had told him. Yes, he knew he was safe from his abusive parents here, although he couldn't say the same when the school year ended, but he decided not to think about that now.

Both stayed locked in each other's arms for another minute before Simon broke away, looking up at the older boy with glossy eyes. Roger hated the look the smaller boy was giving him, it seemed overly concerned and hopeless, he wanted more than anything to replace that look with one of Simon's cheerful ones.

"I don't want you to do this anymore." Simon timidly stated, looking straight into the other's deep, dark eyes. He didn't like that he may sound like a nagging parent trying to stop their kid from doing something that they're addicted to doing, but he really didn't want Roger hurting himself anymore. He knew that Roger was his own person who can do what he wants, but he had to at least _try_ and stop him from cutting anymore.

Roger, on the other hand, was torn between listening to what his instincts told him to do, which happened to be not listening to anyone and do what he wanted- do what he deserved to do to himself. Or listening to what his heart told him, which was to listen to what Simon wanted him to do and stop causing himself harm. It would be a big thing to just stop doing instantly, he's been doing it for years, he _couldn't_ just _quit_ like that. Could he?

"I… I will try not to cut anymore." Roger mumbled uneasily, not really sure if he could go through with this promise he had made, but nonetheless, he was determined to at least try.

The smaller boy's face lit up when he heard this, he smiled happily and wrapped his arms around the other boy once again. At least Roger would try and that's all that mattered.

"Thank you." The words Simon whispered were almost inaudible, but Roger heard them clearly. He smiled down at the other boy and hugged him back. He enjoyed holding Simon in his arms, it was the only place he knew he'd be safe.


	9. Chapter 9

**(A.N. Hello ^-^ Yes, I'm back with another chapter! This chapter takes place about a week later, I know I keep jumping around with the times and settings a lot, sorry about that xD I'm just trying to get the plot moving forward a little more.**

 **Warning: This chapter contains a little violence, anger issues, harassment (nothing too major, don't worry xD), drama, and a lot of future tension. So, uhm, enjoy chapter nine!)**

Chapter Nine:

" _A party?_ "

Simon had never been one to go to parties, they just weren't his thing. So when he got invited to one by Ralph, he wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't want to sound like he's never been to one before; which he hasn't, but that was besides the point. The idea of a party made him nervous for some reason; something about a whole bunch of teenagers getting fueled off of alcohol and drugs with no adult supervision seemed a little edgy to him.

"Yes! It'll be fun. C'mon, Sam and Eric are going too. Peter isn't because he's no fun. You should come though! Plus, it's just going to be people from our school, well, and probably a few other people from different schools too, but the majority of the people there will be somewhat familiar." Ralph explained enthusiastically, wanting Simon to agree to go. He could tell the dark haired boy was hesitant, this was probably his first party anyway.

"Alright, fine. I'll go. But where is the party going to be held? Surely not here, right?" Simon asked timidly. Upon hearing that Simon agreed to go, the blonde's face lit up with excitement.

"Great! And I'm pretty sure that one of the choirboys is holding it at their house, I'm not sure who though. Jack actually told me about the party, he wanted me to go with him and he told me I could invite my friends. He'll be driving us, well not the twins because they're already getting a ride from one of their other friends, but Roger will be with him, he's your friend, right?" Simon nodded. He was glad that the majority of his friends were going to be there too, but that still didn't stop him from being anxious.

"Wait, hold on a second. What happened to you ' _never befriending the redhead'?"_ Simon questioned teasingly, crossing his arms over his chest, a small smirk making its way onto his face. Ralph's face flushed a little, he narrowed his eyes at his slightly shorter friend, also crossing his arms defensively across his chest.

"We're not _friends._ He just invited me to a party as… mere acquaintances." Ralph stated matter of factly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

" _Right._ That's _definitely_ what you two are, just ' _mere acquaintances',"_ Simon continued to tease, not believing the blonde for a second. "By the way, has anyone ever told you you're a bad liar?"

Ralph tried to give the best glare he could muster, but ended up failing miserably as a large grin replaced the attempted glower. He turned away from Simon and shook his head.

"Whatever," Ralph paused for a split second before turning back towards his friend. "Just don't tell Peter, he'd be furious with me." Simon chuckled lightly, he just knew the blonde would end up befriending Jack sooner or later, it was bound to happen.

"Your secret's safe with me… So when's the party?"

"Tonight around eight o'clock-ish. Who knows when it will end, but it doesn't really matter, we have a week off of school to recover." Ralph replied, grinning happily at his friend. He'd been to countless parties, they always varied when they ended; some had even lasted until noon the next day, though most people had went home sometime before then.

Simon thought for a minute before replying. They _were_ off for a whole week. Supposedly before every new semester starts, there is a week long break given to the students, which was something Simon wasn't used to receiving, but he wasn't complaining. There were probably more parties to follow this one later on in the week, though he wasn't sure he'd want to go to anymore after this one.

"We can just hang out until we need to meet Jack at seven thirty." Ralph suggested to which Simon nodded. The two had about two hours until they had to leave. In that time, both had gotten ready, changing into more comfortable, party appropriate clothes; Simon, wearing a simple white button up shirt with black skinny jeans, Ralph, wearing a black long sleeved shirt that hugged his middle and dark blue skinny jeans.

Before they knew it, it was time to meet up with Jack outside. The two made their way out the doors of the school to Jack's car, greeted with a few honks signalling them to hurry up. They both climbed into the backseats of the car, not even having time to put on their seatbelts before Jack sped off and started driving.

"Should have gave you fair warning that Jack's not the _safest_ driver in the world." Ralph mumbled to his friend, a smile working its way onto his face.

" _I heard that._ " Jack commented defensively, glancing at the blonde in the rearview mirror. Simon chuckled, looking between the two. Honestly he could see what Roger saw in them both; they did seem right for each other.

"You were supposed to. Now keep your eyes on the road." Ralph laughed, shaking his head. He looked back over to Simon and saw the smaller boy had his arms crossed and a smirk planted onto his face with a slender brow raised, giving him a pointed look. Ralph rolled his eyes and playfully shoved the dark haired boy away, unable to stop the grin that spread across his face.

"So who's hosting this party?" Ralph asked after a few minutes of silence, not removing his eyes from the window.

"Bill." Jack stated simply, turning a corner sharply, making everyone else in the car jerk to the left.

"Okay, seriously, who taught you how to drive? You suck." Roger remarked, grabbing the handle above his seat to steady himself. The two in the back agreed silently, giggling amongst each other. It was true though. Jack was terrible at driving.

"You want me to show you guys _sucky driving_?" Jack asked almost threateningly, a mischievous smirk finding its way onto his face. The answer was silence. "That's what I thought. Stop criticizing my driving skills."

After a few more minutes of driving, Jack turned onto the road the house was located on. They could already tell the party was going to be big by the scarce amount of available parking spots on the street. Since the redhead was basically the leader of the party's host, he got an exclusive parking spot in the actual driveway of the house, not on the street, which was pretty convenient. The house was huge, bigger than any house Simon had ever seen anyways. He couldn't imagine ever living in something so big. The four of them all got out once the car was parked and were immediately greeted by an overly excited looking Maurice with a soda in his hand.

"Hey guys! Welcome to micasa! Well, actually, this is Bill's house… but that doesn't matter! Come inside!" Maurice welcomed eagerly, grinning ear to ear.

"I think _somebody's_ had too much sugar." Roger remarked, giving Maurice a pointed look. The hyper boy just shrugged and continued to sip his drink until Jack walked over and took the drink from his hands and poured it out into the grass.

" _Hey!_ "

"It's for your own good." The redhead reassured, receiving a pout from the other boy. But the hyperactive boy recovered quickly, and a large smile made its way onto his face once again.

All five of them eventually made their way inside where loud music was blaring, the scent of alcohol was fresh in the air, burning their noses, and people were dancing, having a good time. It was all pretty new to Simon. He was very uncomfortable, he walked closer to Ralph, not wanting to get lost in the swarm of dancing bodies. Maurice led them all to the kitchen where a whole table full of alcohol and beer waited for them. Jack grabbed a bottle with no hesitation, popping the lid off with his thumb, and taking a long swig.

About two hours into the party, Simon sat on a stool at the bar counter in between Ralph, who was quietly sipping a soda, and Roger, who was playing on his phone. He and Ralph were watching Maurice and Jack have a contest on who could catch the most m&ms in their mouths, both were failing miserably. Maurice accidently threw his too high, too far, and ended up diving into a poor boy who was walking into the kitchen at that time, to retrieve it. Simon and Ralph chuckled softly.

"Hey, I still caught it!" Maurice pointed out, putting the blue m&m between his teeth to prove himself. " _I_ think I should get _double points_ for that awesome stunt." The strawberry blonde remarked smugly, getting up off the boy he basically tackled to the ground, not bothering to apologize.

"Whatever… Roger, what's the score so far?" Jack asked, slightly irritated about his show off friend.

"Hmm?" Roger looked up from from his phone, clearly he hasn't been paying attention to anything that's been going on. Jack sighed in annoyance.

"You've caught eleven so far and Maurice has caught fifteen." Ralph stated matter of factly, running a hand through his fair hair. He'd actually been keeping up with the whole competition; it was quite amusing. He glanced over at Simon and noticed the raven haired boy wasn't paying attention anymore either. He was too busy watching Roger play a game on his phone. Ralph smiled mischievously and nudged Simon with enough force to make him bump into the other boy. Roger glanced up for a second, meeting Simon's gaze, he smiled lightly before turning back to his phone. Simon turned around, face flustered and eyes wide, looking at Ralph like he was crazy. The blonde shrugged innocently, a small smirk etched into his features.

Ralph decided to give the two some privacy so they both would actually talk to each other without getting embarrassed or awkward. He got up and grabbed a pack of m&m's, and made his way to where Jack and Maurice were, silently announcing he was joining their little game. Jack was secretly thrilled by this. He gave a sly smirk as the blonde walked over to him and his friend.

Simon scooted closer to the older boy when he felt another body brush up against his own from behind him. He was all kinds of uncomfortable. Roger chuckled at this, looking up from his phone to the smaller boy that was practically on top of him.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say you haven't been to a lot of parties, have you?" The older boy asked, eyeing the others close proximity. Simon shook his head, smiling sheepishly.

"Parties aren't really my thing." The smaller boy replied with a shrug. He didn't care if he sounded lame, it was true. He was going way out of his comfort zone to be here with Ralph.

"I'm not too big on parties either, I just come because there's really nothing better to do." Simon nodded. He knew how boring that boarding school was. There wasn't much to do there besides academic related things, but he'd personally rather be there than here.

Roger felt comfortable with the fact that Simon was with him. He knew nothing would happen to the smaller boy while he was here. He felt the need to protect him and watch over him at all times, especially here where intoxicated teens were running wild, able to do about anything without getting caught. Roger gave Simon a warm smile before turning his attention over to Jack, Maurice, and Ralph who were laughing wildly at something he hadn't bothered to pay attention to.

Simon's heart fluttered when he saw Roger's, almost rare, smile. He adored it to no end. He put a hand over his mouth to hide his own growing smile, also turning to face the three still laughing people in front of him, throwing colored candies at each other. Seeing the large, genuine smile on Ralph's face made Simon feel happy. He loved seeing his friend was having a good time. His grin grew behind the hand over his mouth, but it soon faltered when he felt a warm liquid run down the back of his hand. He looked down and noticed dark red blotches on the granite countertop he was leaning over, immediately he covered up his nose.

"I'll be right back." Simon mumbled hurriedly to Roger who looked at him with concern.

"You okay?" The older boy asked, noticing Simon's panicky look.

"Yeah, I'll just be a minute." Simon assured, getting up from the stool and turning toward the large mass of partygoers. He wormed his way through all the dancing bodies hastily, still covering his nose with one hand. There was one problem though: He had no idea where he was going. There had to be a bathroom somewhere around here, he honestly did not want to ask anybody for directions.

He came across a wide staircase, figuring that there had to be a restroom up there somewhere, he started to climb the steps swiftly, ignoring stares and heated makeout sessions on the way. When he made it to the top, he started down the hall of the second floor, briefly looking into the rooms as he passed. He let out a sigh of relief as he came across a rather large bathroom. He walked in, shutting and locking the door behind himself. He walked over to the sink, turning on the faucet with his free hand, glancing into the mirror as he waited for the water to warm up. He removed the hand from his nose, the blood still trickled down, seeming never ending. He took a washcloth he found, hoping that Bill and his family wouldn't notice, and held it over his nose, stopping the blood flow.

It took a few minutes, but the nosebleed eventually stopped. Epilepsy wasn't too much of a pain. Usually Simon could live with all the side effects and may no mind to them without trying, but he absolutely despised his random nosebleeds, as well as seizures and fainting spells too. They just came at such bad, unpredictable times. It was annoying. When Simon finished cleaning up his face, he realized his blood had stained the already off-white cloth.

"Oops." the small boy muttered to himself, feeling a bit bad for ruining something that didn't belong to him. Simon carefully put the cloth back and made sure the bloody part was hidden. He then went back over to the mirror and adjusted the collar of his shirt. He realized his blood had trickled onto it and stained it as well. There was no use in trying to scrub out the stain that would probably never come out, so for now, he just tried to make himself look presentable with what he had. When he thought he looked well enough to be seen again, he unlocked the door, opening it and stepping out.

He started to make his way back down the dimly lit hall, but before he even reached the staircase, somebody grabbed his arm, pulling him back with much force. Simon let out a surprised yelp before he was brutally shoved up against a wall and pinned against his own will, arms restrained above his head. He looked up at the person who had him restrained. He recognized this boy; he was from choir. Robert. The much larger boy leaned down, Simon could smell the alcohol in his breath and noticed his bloodshot eyes. Robert was obviously drunk and had no idea what he was doing.

"Robert, what are you-"

Before Simon could get another word out, a rough, rather sloppy kiss was planted onto his lips. He squirmed under the hold of the other, wanting desperately to get away. He attempted to push the larger boy away with his body, but Robert only pushed more into him. Simon finally managed to turn his head away and broke the kiss, grimacing in disgust. Robert took advantage of the now open neck, starting to place violent kisses and bites onto the skin.

" _Please s-stop_." Simon pleaded, sounding desperate and weak; something he absolutely hated sounding like, but he couldn't help it.

Ignoring the smaller boy's plea, the other only bit harder into the flesh, making Simon cry out. Robert shifted, taking both of the other's wrists into one of his hands, carelessly unbuttoning his shirt with his other, revealing more vulnerable flesh. He aggressively sunk his teeth down into the smaller boy's collarbone, earning a quiet whimper. Robert looked up at the small boy lustfully, a sadistic grin made it's way to his face as he arose to his full height, scanning the boy up and down, his eyes full of desire and want.

Simon looked away towards the ground, wanting more than anything to disappear, he felt exposed and dirty. Robert grabbed a handful of the other's raven black hair, forcefully jerking Simon's head back, enforcing eye contact. The smaller boy let out another cry as his head collided with the wall behind him. The larger boy pressed his lips against the others harshly, ignoring the little resistance he received from the smaller boy. He aimlessly ran his free hand all over the other's small body, trailing lightly over Simon's thigh, making the smaller boy visibly shiver. Simon struggled more violently under the other's hold, twisting and turning in an attempt to get free, but it was no use. He was too _weak._

Suddenly, the larger boy was ripped off of Simon. Everything happened so quickly. Simon saw another figure throw Robert to the ground and start beating the living hell out of him. He had to take a minute before he could comprehend the whole situation, but quickly realized it was Roger who was beating Robert. Roger now had Robert pinned on the ground, his knees restraining the other's arms, he was sitting on his stomach, restricting the air to his lungs. He wrapped his hands around the other's neck tightly and squeezed.

" _Roger!_ It's okay, I'm okay! Stop! He didn't know what he was doing- he's drunk!" Simon yelled, trying desperately to pry Roger from the other boy. It wasn't Roberts fault, It was the alcohol messing with his head. He didn't deserve to be beaten to death. Roger pushed Simon away from him, continuing to strangle the boy beneath him. " _Roger_ , _stop!_ " Simon tried again to pull the larger boy away. Roger looked up from the near unconscious boy to Simon who had fear clearly shown in his bright eyes. It hurt knowing that the fear in Simon's eyes was caused by him. He removed his hands and stood, glaring down menacingly at the boy on the ground.

"Are you kidding?! He _harassed_ you! He deserves every bit of this!" Roger also found himself raising his voice. He was beyond angry, feeling a mix of different emotions; none of them being pleasant. Was Simon really trying to _defend_ his harasser?

"No he doesn't! He's _drunk-_ he didn't know! He doesn't deserve to be beaten to death because of something he did when he wasn't really himself!" Simon shouted back, surprising himself with his rising voice. He rarely ever yelled, he couldn't remember the last time he did so, but at the moment, he didn't really care. Simon had no clue why he was defending the person who had just harassed him, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He knew that Robert wouldn't just do something like that while he was still sane, so he couldn't really blame him for it. And it wasn't like anything really happened. Well, if it weren't for Roger, that is… Roger just scoffed, becoming even more furious.

"I can't believe you're trying to _stick up_ for him." He scowled, his dark eyes piercing into Simon's. "You could have gotten hurt, or raped even!"

"I can take care of myself! I don't need you trying to _protect_ me from _everything!_ I could have handled the situation!" Simon retorted sharply, glaring up at the older boy. He was so frustrated and angry, he didn't know what to do or why he felt this way. He knew Roger was just looking out for him and knew he meant everything with the best of intentions, so why was Simon getting so angry?

"Yeah, it sure _looked_ like you had everything under control," Roger shot back sarcastically. "What would you have done if my concern didn't get the best of me, huh? What would you have done then? Because by the looks of it, you couldn't even move the guy. How are you supposed to stop a guy that's twice- almost three times the size of you?! It's simple. _You can't._ " He knew he was getting carried away, and he knew he was probably hurting Simon's feelings, but he just wanted he couldn't control his anger and had to let it out somehow other than violence.

The words said to him wounded him for some reason. Simon's face contorted into a hurt expression and his eyes became watery. He looked down toward the ground and held himself. He was usually good at compressing his emotions when he felt like he needed to, but now it seemed like they had a mind of their own and they were taking over. He knew Roger was right. It was quite obvious. He knew he was lying to the both of them when he claimed he had the situation under control, so why was he so hurt in hearing the actual truth from Roger? Everything was so confusing, it was giving Simon a headache.

Roger hated to see that pained expression on the smaller boy's face. He was meant to be happy and cheerful all the time. Not hurt, sad, and angry. Roger almost gave in. He took a small step toward Simon, furrowing his brows. He felt bad and wanted to quickly make up and make things all well again, but his frustrations were clawing at him and wouldn't let him pull the smaller boy into an embrace or let out the words 'I'm sorry'. He looked back down toward where Robert lay nearly unconscious and it triggered his anger again. He drew in a sharp breath and shifted, trying to keep his cool and not go after Robert again. And he thought Jack had anger issues, hah, it seemed his were worse.

Everything had seemed to calm down and the two were left in awkward silence. The faint sound of music and enthusiastic hollars could be heard from downstairs, but it seemed to be almost drowned out by the silence and tension in the air.

Simon wanted to apologise just as much as Roger did, but he couldn't bring himself to do it either. What was up with that? It had always been so easy for him to forgive someone, even in worse matters, but right now it seemed to be one of the hardest things ever and he just couldn't do it for the life of him. He wanted to at least say something, anything, that would help ease the tension, but his anger wouldn't allow him to do so unless it was something rude. He wanted to vent out all his frustrations right then and there, but he couldn't do that either. He was left with nothing to say. Roger took another uncertain step forward, wanting more than anything to scoop up the smaller boy in his arms and see that cute smile of his again, but he couldn't do it.

"Leave me alone." Simon whispered in a shaky voice, hugging himself even tighter, still not looking up toward the taller boy. Roger stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Simon in shock. He never thought he would ever hear those words come out of Simon's mouth, especially him, of all people. He was always welcoming people in, not pushing them out. It was so unlike him and Roger didn't like that he was part of the cause that made him upset. This made Roger's anger increase dramatically.

You know what? _Fine._ " He was overly enraged, but he controlled himself from doing anything he may regret later. He simply turned around and stormed off, leaving Simon standing there. He needed a drink. Simon watched him go, every part of him wanted to run up and stop the older boy from leaving, pull him into a tight hug and apologize, but he just couldn't. He didn't know why he felt so frustrated with himself and Roger. The older boy was only trying to help him, though he took it a little _too_ far, he still had a good intention.

Simon looked to the ground at the fallen boy who was bleeding from the corner of his mouth and nose. No matter how much he wanted to blame everything that had just happened on him, he knew he couldn't because it wasn't really his fault. It was all that alcohol he had consumed messing with his head. Simon hugged himself tightly and found his hands were trembling a little; he didn't know if it was out of fear, irritation, or anger. He didn't know if he's ever been so angry before and he still didn't quite understand why he was so mad, he just was.

Simon decided it would probably be best if he waited the rest of the party in Jack's car. He stepped over the slightly twitching body, making his way down the stairs, slipping through the crowd of sweaty, dancing bodies, making it to the door and letting himself out. He trudged slowly to the car, opening the backseat door and getting in, slamming the car door shut harder than necessary behind himself.

Roger was irated. He glowered at everybody. if looks could kill, a lot of people would be dead by now. He arrived back to where Jack, Ralph, and Maurice were, walking past them to the table full of alcohol, grabbing the strongest, bitterest bottle of booze he could find, popping the lid off and taking a long swig. Jack and Ralph glanced at each other questionably and shrugged. They both were oblivious to what had just happened, neither knowing why Roger was so angry, but they both decided it was probably best not to ask. Roger sat down hastily, taking another lengthy swig before turning to Jack.

"Robert needs to be kicked from choir." The dark haired boy said demandingly. Jack furrowed his brow, obviously confused by this. He wondered if the two had gotten into a fight or something.

"Why?"

"Because he sexually harassed Simon." Roger spat. "He _needs_ to be kicked out." The other two looked at him then at each other in shock. Jack couldn't believe one of his choirboys would do such a thing, especially to another choirboy. But no matter the reason, it wasn't really his place to kick anybody out of choir, particularly when he couldn't prove to the headmaster that Robert actually did it.

"Roger, you know it's not my place to kick anyone out-" Jack cut himself off when he caught the look in Roger's eyes. It was threatening and terrifying, almost savage-like. "I'll, uh, see what I can do." That seemed to calm the dark haired boy some. He took another drink and turned towards the counter, focusing his deadly gaze on something other than his friend.

Ralph furrowed his brow, thinking over what Roger had just said. His friend was _sexually harassed_ by somebody? The blonde suddenly felt a pang of guilt wash over him. He was the one who made the dark haired boy end up agreeing to go, knowing this _was_ his first party, he hadn't even been keeping an eye on him. Simon hadn't come back with Roger, was he okay? Ralph decided he was going to go look for Simon. He nudged Jack with his arm, motioning him to bend down some so he could whisper in his ear.

"Simon didn't come back with Roger, I'm going to go look for him." Ralph murmured to the redhead who nodded in response. The blonde departed, scanning the crowd of partygoers for his small, dark haired friend. He looked in all the rooms downstairs, not finding any trace of Simon, he went upstairs to look. The first thing he saw when he made it up the steps was a body lying on its back on the ground. The person was groaning. He seemed out of it, drunk off his head. Ralph cautiously approached the fallen boy. As he got closer, he noticed the boy was, in fact, Robert; even from where he was standing, a good few feet away, Ralph could distinctly make out the dark bruising around the other's neck and the trickling blood that ran down his nose and the corner of his mouth. Obviously Roger had taught him a lesson. Ralph inwardly shivered at the thought of what that dark haired boy was capable of. If Simon really did get harassed, he was sure that Roger wouldn't stop beating the boy until he was long dead, so he figured Simon had stopped him, that's the only explanation he could think of.

Ralph continued the search for his small friend, looking in all the rooms upstairs, even looking in a couple closets, but he had no luck whatsoever. The blonde decided to take his hunt for Simon outside, thinking that it would be the only other place the small boy could have gone. Ralph made his way downstairs and to the front door of the house with ease. He opened the door and stepped out onto the porch, pretending not to notice a quite intense makeout session to his right; they were _literally_ about to swallow each other. Ralph scrunched up his nose in disgust, he ignored them and began to scan the driveway, immediately his eyes landed on Jack's car, the lights were on, the blonde instantly knew Simon was in there.

Ralph made his way over to the car, he gently knocked on the window before he opened the backseat door and got in beside the dark haired boy, closing the door behind himself. It was silent. The two made brief eye contact before the dark haired boy turned away towards the window. The pang of guilt hit Ralph like a truck this time when he saw the distressed, upset expression on his friend's face. He felt absolutely terrible.

The blonde took a moment to study the dark haired boy. He first noticed a few dark bruises along Simon's neck, which he assumed were hickeys made by Robert. Simon's hair was a mess, looking as if he had just got out of bed. The collar on his shirt looked like it had been stretched out, and the top three buttons on his shirt were undone, revealing Simon's bare chest. It made Ralph feel absolutely furious that someone would harass such a sweet, innocent boy like Simon. But thankfully, judging by the looks of the dark haired boy, things didn't go _too_ far.

"Simon..?" Ralph tried, timidly reaching out towards his friend who was still facing away from him. "Are you okay?"

Simon half turned towards the blonde. Hurt, upset eyes met worried, guilt driven eyes. He contemplated whether or not he should lie, but he figured Ralph already knew the answer, so what was the use? Simon shook his head once and frowned, he didn't exactly know how to put the emotions he felt into words; he was feeling too much to decipher them all.

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened?"

Simon honestly didn't want to go in depth with everything that had happened in the last hour or so, he did not want to relive any of it. He wished he could go back and change what had happened, but sadly, that was impossible. Simon drew in a short breath before he decided to explain everything to the blonde.

"Well, to sum it all up, basically a boy from choir, who was pretty drunk at the moment, decided I was an easy target to harass. I guess Roger noticed, and he thankfully saved me from being violated anymore… But then he began to beat the other boy, it seemed like he was actually trying to intentionally kill him. I managed to stop him because it wasn't the other boy's fault, it was the alcohol messing with his brain," Simon paused for a split second. "Roger and I got into a heated argument about the whole situation… I wasn't thinking when I said that I could handle myself because _obviously_ I can't.. But after that, Roger started going off about how I couldn't handle the situation. Then it got quiet for a while and things calmed down, but then I stupidly let my anger get the best of me and I told him to leave me alone… Pretty much after that, Roger got even more angry and stormed off. I didn't mean for him to get upset with me…"

Ralph took a minute to think this through. He supposed that if someone got drunk enough, they would end up doing stupid things that they'd probably regret later. Simon did have a point, Robert did seem out of it, he probably had no clue what he was doing, but if he did, Ralph was almost certain Roger would end up finding out and he'd pummel the poor boy some more. He had to admit that it was kinda cute how selfless and protective Roger was when it came to Simon. Through all the years he'd been in school with him, he had only seen him act this way with Simon; of course he was the same way with Jack too, but that was different; it was more of a brotherly bond that the two had.

"Roger was just trying to protect and defend you because he cares and he doesn't want anything bad to ever happen to you." Simon nodded, turning to look out the front of the car window. He felt bad for yelling at Roger, he _was_ just trying to defend him, he didn't really mean anything he said… He _did_ need Roger to protect him from everything because was simply _too_ weak to stand up for himself. But in all honesty, Simon didn't really mind Roger's overprotectiveness. In fact, he loved it. But in a situation like this, it _did_ get a little out of hand, he really wouldn't want Roger to practically kill a guy for him…

"I feel terrible…" Ralph nodded understandingly, he definitely could tell Simon regretted saying whatever he did to Roger. Both stayed silent for another few minutes, just taking time to think. "Do you think I should apologize..?"

"I think you should, but you may want to wait until Roger cools down some to do that, he's still pretty heated right now... Did you want to talk about anything else?" Ralph asked sincerely, earning a small, reassuring smile from the other boy as he shook his head slightly. "Well alright, I'm going to go back inside to see how everything is holding up. Want to come?" Ralph asked, looking expectantly at the dark haired boy, blindly opening the car door from behind. Again, Simon shook his head. He did not want to go back in there, in fact, he never wanted to go to another party again after this one… How ironic that something bad just _had_ to happen when he went to his first party.

"No, I'm fine in here, thanks."

"Well okay, if you say so. We'll probably be leaving soon anyways so you don't have to wait too long." Ralph assured to which Simon nodded. The blonde got out of the car, giving a warm smile to his friend before he shut the door and made his way back into the party.

Immediately after Ralph opened the front door, he was greeted with the sight of what remained of a broken stool on the ground; pieces of wood were scattered everywhere and everyone was looking in the same direction. Ralph looked to where they were all looking and saw an infuriated Roger standing up with a worried looking Jack behind him. Ralph cautiously made his way over to the two, never taking his nervous eyes off the dark haired boy who refused to look away from the ground where the remains of the stool were.

"What did I miss?" Ralph whispered to Jack, both still looking concernedly at Roger.

"Somebody mentioned Robert's name or something, and, well, _that_ happened." Jack replied, glancing at the blonde for a brief second before turning his attention back to his dark haired friend. The redhead walked over to Roger, Ralph following his suit, and took one of his arms, gently dragging him back into the kitchen and to a small table. Roger sat down in one of the chairs with no hesitation or complaints, he put his head in his hands and tried to ignore all the staring faces he got from the most everyone in the room.

Soon enough, Jack and Ralph decide that they should get going, they both began to make their way out of the party. Roger followed silently behind them, calmer than he was, but still pretty mad. The three of them get to Jack's old, beaten up car and got in. Almost instantly, Ralph felt the tension radiating off of Roger and Simon. Nobody talked, they just sat there the whole ride in an awkward silence.

After about a half hour or so, they finally arrived back to the boarding school. All four of them got out, still staying as silent as ever. Simon immediately rushed to the front of the building, wanting to avoid the others and just go back to the safety of his dorm where he could just lie in bed and think.

Roger felt as if somebody was stabbing his heart repeatedly. He didn't understand why he felt so frustrated with Simon- Heck, he didn't understand most of the emotions he was feeling, most felt so foreign to him. He felt so many things all at once, he couldn't comprehend them all, but he could definitely feel one thing in particular. He felt betrayed. Most every one of his friends knew about the little crush he had on Simon, thanks to a certain redhead who never seems to shut his mouth, and Robert wasn't one of his close friends, sure, but he was still a friend that he put his trust into. Yeah, too much alcohol _can_ make you do dumb things, but that was still no excuse for _harassing_ somebody; especially if he knew that Simon was off limits in the first place. Roger slowly trudged to his dorm room. He wanted to forget everything that had just happened and just sleep. He swiftly unlocked the door and stepped inside, slamming the door shut behind himself.


End file.
